Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque (Screengrab from RTVM)
MANILA – The scheduled 20-day Malampaya natural gas field shutdown in October will not affect the power supply needed for Covid-19 vaccine storage facilities, Malacañang said on Monday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured that the Department of Energy (DOE) will ensure uninterrupted power supply amid the country’s ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive.
“I can only restate yung (the) assurance na sinabi ni (of) [Energy] Usec. Wimpy Fuentebella na handa po tayo sa 20-day closure ng Malampaya (that we are ready for the 20-day closure of Malampaya),” he said in a press briefing in SM City in San Mateo, Rizal.
He explained that likely there will be a decrease in electricity demand as the country approaches the “ber” months or months of the year ending in the “-ber” syllable.
“Hindi na po talaga masyado peak ang demand for electricity dahil ang peak for electricity po talaga yung tag-init na gumagamit talaga tayo ng airconditioning at mga bentilador (There is a lower demand for electricity because the demand peaks in summer when people use air-conditioning units and electric fans),” he said.
Roque said preparations are being done to ensure the continuity of the flow of electricity and prevent possible brownouts.
"So inaasahan po natin na hindi maaapektuhan ang ating supply ng kuryente at dahil dito hindi rin maaapektuhan ang ating mga bakunahan (We are expecting an uninterrupted supply of electricity and because of this our vaccination efforts will not be affected),” he added.
The Malampaya gas field is scheduled to go offline from Oct. 2 to 22.
Earlier, Fuentebella said there is a sufficient supply of power despite the Malampaya gas field going offline this October as long as there will be no forced outages from power plants.
Malampaya is the country’s lone significant source of oil and gas supply, which provides 30 percent of the power requirement of Luzon, or 20 percent of the country’s total electricity requirement. (PNA)
