Coal Plant No Quick Fix for Davao City's Power Voes

The new coal plant near here proved to be no quick fix to the lack of electricity that is plaguing this city and other places in Mindanao.

The city is again suffering from three-to-four hour brownouts daily blamed on two factors—the drought that is commonly associated with the El Niño phenomenon and maintenance work on a unit of a coal plant that had become one of the city’s main sources of power.

“The power shortage is really beyond our control,” said Ross Luga, assistant vice president for reputation enhancement of the Davao Light and Power Co. (DLPC), the city’s main supplier of power.

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“But we’re doing our best to minimize, if not to avoid, implementing these service disruptions,” said Luga at a press forum here Monday, apologizing to customers for the inconvenience.

The drought that has reduced the capacity of hydroelectric power sources was compounded by maintenance work on a unit of a coal plant under the Therma South Inc. (TSI), which is owned by the Aboitizes.

According to Luga, DLPC had been informed that Unit 2 of its sister company, the Aboitiz-owned TSI coal-fired power plant, will have to undergo maintenance work until Jan. 23, removing 50 megawatts of electricity from the Mindanao grid.

The previous week, DLPC started implementing rotating brownouts lasting for about an hour after the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (Psalm)-National Power Corporation (Napocor) failed to deliver the amount of electricity it was contracted to supply.

Luga said the power supply delivered to DLPC reached only 233 MW, not enough to meet the 320 MW demand.

He said power demand in Davao City can reach as high as 340 MW in peak hours.

Engineer Zandbro Chad Ramos, DLPC systems operations manager, said DLPC officials still don’t know the extent of the damage that El Niño has brought.

“If it gets worse, our brownouts might be a lot longer,” he said.

Luga said DLPC would be forced to project power demand and supply by the hour starting in February. “That’s how volatile our power situation has become,” he said.

“If all the generating capacities are working normally and the demand is not too high, there would have been no problem,” Luga said. Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao

Filipino Exporters Join World's Largest Trade Fair in Germany

By: Anne A. Jambora, Philippine Daily Inquirer

More than 40 local exporters are gearing up for the world’s largest, oldest and most important consumer trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, next month.

The Philippines will join thousands of exhibitors from around the world at Ambiente 2016.

Showcasing mostly handmade products in the Dining, Giving and Living categories, in an exhibit area more than 50 times the size of the Philippines’ SMX Convention Center, the show has double the number of its exhibitors from last year.

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“European shows are design-oriented, so we have to make sure there is always something new each year,” said Wilbert Novero, general manager of We Link (Worldwide Exhibitions Linkage Services), a division of Global Link Exhibitions Specialist, the official sales partner of Messe Frankfurt GmbH, organizer of Ambiente.

With a booth occupying a floor area of 700 square meters at the fair, the Philippines will be presenting table, kitchen and household products in Dining; gifts, decor, fashion and jewelry in Giving; and furnishing ideas, home accessories, and indoor and outdoor decor in Living.

Nuances of craft

The country’s edge in the show, however, is what Novero calls the Filipino “soul.” Most countries now go for a clean, industrial look. While these are modern, they lack the nuances of craft that can only be seen, for example, in a handmade chair.

The indigenous materials and labor that go into Philippine products, coupled with unique design sensibilities, have always made them a standout at Ambiente trade fairs.

Dining tabletops are now among the most sought-after products, since many Europeans today opt to dine and entertain at home. What the Philippines lacks in tableware and glassware, it makes up for in innovative designs.

Germany is known as the capital of trade fairs, where every major city has a fair ground. Ambiente has been the leading world trade show in consumer goods for more than 800 years, since it started in a medieval building in Frankfurt in 1150.

Today, it sets trends worldwide in design, color and material.

Italian designer Paola Navone will design this year’s partner country presentation, while German designer Detlef Klatt and Rachelle Dagñalan will curate the Philippine exhibit.

For more info, visit we-link.gesi.com.ph/ or www.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en.html.