The Department of Energy said Thursday the power generation of hydropower plants would remain at 50 percent below their capacity in July despite the recent heavy rains.
“It’s the same status of 50-percent deration this July, which will increase to 70-percent deration by December,” Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said.
She said the rains in the previous days were not enough to meet the water supply requirements of the hydro plants. “This third week of July is the potential yellow alert, and we are hoping it will not push through. The operations of the Ilijan plant helped,” Guevara said.
Guevera said the DOE was monitoring several hydropower plants and the impact of the El Niño dry spell on their generation capacity. These are the 280-megawatt Angat, 720-MW Kalayaan, 345-MW Magat and 435-MW San Roque hydro facilities.
The DOE conducted a simulation, based on historical data and forecasts of El Niño’s impact on power generation and found that about 300 MW to 500 MW of hydro capacity would be affected.
“We are monitoring their [water] level that will determine their capacity to generate hydroelectric power,” Guevara said. Alena Mae S. Flores
