DOE vows: No red, yellow alerts till yearend By Lenie Lectura
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@llectura
HE Department of Energy (DOE) assured lawmakers on Thursday that there will be no red or yellow alert issuances for the Luzon grid until the end of the year. During a Senate hearing, the agency’s power outlook for the rest of the year already took into consideration the scheduled maintenance shutdown of power plants, forced outage of power plants based on average unplanned plant outages for 2018 to 2021, and committed power projects which are
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ongoing construction or at least secured project financing. “We have no alert for the rest of the year,” said DOE Undersecretary Mario Marasigan said during the Joint Congressional Energy Commission hearing held on Thursday afternoon. A yellow alert is issued by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the grid’s regulating and contingency requirement, which is set at 688MW each. A red alert, meanwhile, is issued when supply is not enough to meet the demand and the regu-
lating requirement. The DOE’s rosy projection also took into account the additional capacity coming from Ilijan power plant which partially resumed operation. The DOE said the Ilijan LNG (liquefied natural gas)fueled power plant has reached a maximum available capacity of 900 megawatts (MW) already. “The Ilijan facility is not yet in full operation. It’s still in the testing, commissioning of supply. Then we also took into consideration the limitation of some power plants which are also in the testing stage. We also included in our projection the possible out-
ages. If those outages will not happen then the capacity will serve as a buffer,” said Marasigan. For week 32, or from August 7 to 13, Luzon peak demand was lower by 91MW from the projected 13,125MW for the year.
FIBA, bgay polls
Marasigan said that the DOE power outlook also considered an increase in demand during the FIBA Basketball World Cup next week and the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan election in October this year. See “DOE,” A2
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Friday, August 18, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 305
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Q2 GROWTH SLOWDOWN
SHARED HARVEST Tarlac Heritage Foundation cofounder, Dr. Isa Cojuangco Suntay, AFP Chief of Staff Gen Romeo S. Brawner Jr., Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Philippine Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Roy Galido and Armored Division Commander Maj. Gen. Facundo Palafox—accompanied by representatives from Asean countries, including Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Brunei and Cambodia—gather at the Hardin Ng Lunas biodiversity farm in Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, to celebrate the successful harvest of a variety of vegetables, highlighting the farm’s cultural and environmental significance. Residents of Sta. Lucia in Capas, Tarlac, lent their hands to the harvest, emphasizing community engagement and sustainable farming practices. The farm’s produce, ranging from okra to watermelons, served as a testament to the dedication of the Philippine Army's Armored Division in nurturing the land. Soldiers shared their harvest with Sta. Lucia residents. BERNARD TESTA
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By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
HE Monetary Board decided to again maintain its key policy rates, the third pause since May 2023, in the hopes that the third time could work as a charm to boost the economy and allow inflation to further moderate.
The Monetary Board decided to keep the interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility at 6.25 percent. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also retained at 5.75 percent and 6.75 percent, respectively. On Thursday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said the decision of the Monetary Board took into consideration weaker GDP growth in the second quarter. “ T he Monetar y Board a lso recog nized the cha l leng ing outlook for economic growth, as the weaker GDP outturn for
the second quarter of 2023 reflected a broad-based slowdown in domestic demand. Household consumption slowed due to elevated commodity prices, while government spending contracted relative to the previous year,” Remolona said. “Given these considerations, the Monetary Board deemed it appropriate to maintain monetary policy settings to allow a moderation of inflation even as authorities continue to assess the emerging risks to the inflation outlook,” he added.
GOVT LONG-TERM VIEW: MONETIZE NAIA, RAISE P7T
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Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista holds a plaque of appreciation from the Rotary Club of Manila (RCM) where he spoke about the DOTr’s projects to spur economic growth. Flanking him are District Governor-elect Jackie Rodriguez (left) and RCM President Rafael M. Alunan III.
By Lito U. Gagni
HE government will, as part of a long-term plan, eventually monetize the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) complex once the two international airports under construction—the Bulacan and Sangley airports—are operating, and see proceeds of P7 trillion from the 70-hectare prime lot. Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista bared this during a forum that followed his speech before the Rotary Club of Manila at the Manila Polo Club on Thursday, where he expounded on the 8-point socioeconomic agenda of President Marcos Jr. that aims to reduce cost of doing business, bring about carbon neutrality, create jobs, improve mobility, and spur economic growth. Bautista said at P1 million per square meter, the government can realize P7 trillion from the eventual sale of the Naia, but stressed
that before that happens, the government needs to have the Bulacan and Sangley airports operating. In the meantime, the government will start modernizing the old airport which is now congested. Bautista said that the airport only has a capacity of 32 million passengers but it has to come to terms with 60 million in passenger volume. “It is difficult to solve congestion,” Bautista said, but the government will introduce new ways of tackling the problem, including expanding the immigration counters. The DOTr, Bautista said, is trying to “improve the passenger experience” by expanding the terminal. One terminal that is set to open is one in the old Philippine Village Hotel, where another terminal can be put up, although there is a court issue that is yet to be resolved. See “Govt,” A2
See “BSP,” A2
PESO exchange rates n US 56.7620 n japan 0.3881 n UK 72.2807 n HK 7.2487 n CHINA 7.7767 n singapore 41.7583 n australia 36.4582 n EU 61.7798 n KOREA 0.0423 n SAUDI arabia 15.1353 Source: BSP (August 17, 2023)