CoE czar stresses need for additional power supply

Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, Chairman of the Committee on Energy, urges the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as industry players and stakeholders to act swiftly on the next round of biddings for the green field baseload capacity, this after the Competitive Selection Process (CSPs) conducted last September resulted in the awards of Power Supply Agreements that are price competitive and lower than prevailing generation charges.

“We believe that, with the increasing demand of power being projected for the coming years, our country urgently needs additional capacity to support the current administration’s golden age of infrastructure,” Velasco said, adding that the record number of Yellow and Red Alerts plaguing the Luzon Grid customers this year should not be allowed to recur.

“We look forward to the start of the next round of bidding for new baseload capacity, which will definitely be a welcome development, as this is aligned with the Duterte administration’s goal of bringing down the cost of electricity and ensuring a steady and continued supply of power across the country,” he said.

Velasco also calls on the other distribution utilities and electric cooperatives to expedite their own CSPs, in strict compliance with the DoE’s CSP guidelines, to support the building of greenfield power facilities.