The Summer is Back - and Blackouts in The Philippines!

One of my previous columns in Mindanao Daily Mirror was entitled "Summer is back". Yes, summer is back in the Philippines - and the daily blackouts - or "brownouts"... .

After being able to avoid the rotating power outages for the past two months, Davao Light and Power company may now be forced to implement rotating brownouts within its franchise as the national Grid Cooperation of the Philippines has announced an increase in the Mindanao-wide power curtailment at a level of 320 MW.

While other areas in Mindanao have reportedly been experiencing long durations of brownouts, Davao Light customers may only experience 30-minutes rotating outages due to reserve power supply that it has contracted from Independent Power producers as part of its contingency plans to address power shortages.

Allow me to quote Florencio A. Ranido, Mindanao Daily Mirror Editorial Consultant: 

"Dabawenyos from all walks of life should be thankful for the far sightedness of Davao Light and Power company in particular and the Aboitiz Power Corp., its mother firm, in general. For quite a while, some areas in Mindanao, especially General Santos City, Sarangani provinces and the adjacent municipalities of Polomok and Tupi in South Cotabato have been experiencing one and a half hours of rotation brownouts daily."

Very well said, Sir. And, it's true, I just experienced during my stays in this area last week... .