Davao Light readies interruptible load program ahead of possible El Niño supply shortfall

Davao Light and Power Co. is preparing to reactivate its Interruptible Load Program (ILP) to help shore up power supply in Davao City should El Niño cause shortfalls, according to Mindanao Times.

Davao Light president and general manager Henriczar Tia announced the plan during a panel discussion at the Power Forward Mindanao forum, held Tuesday, Nov. 10, at Aria Hotel. He said the distribution utility is taking a proactive approach to managing demand on the grid.

Under the program, large commercial customers such as shopping malls and manufacturing plants can temporarily disconnect from the grid and use their own generator sets during periods of peak demand or supply deficit. Participating companies are asked to cut their demand during specific hours of the day when supply in the system falls short.

Tia said roughly 60 megawatts of ILP capacity is available within Davao Light's franchise area. "So right now, I think we have an idle total of 60 megawatts, so that should be, that's around 15% to 20% of the demand," he said. That share of the utility's peak demand could be mobilised to ease pressure on the grid when supply is tight.

Power freed up by participating companies would be redirected to smaller residential and commercial customers. Davao Light estimates that for every megawatt not drawn by large companies, about 4,000 customers would be spared from rotating outages.

The program operates under rules set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in 2010 and amended in 2019, and runs alongside the ERC's Performance-Based Regulation framework.

Despite the preparations, Tia said there is currently enough supply to meet consumer demand, stressing there is "nothing to worry about for now."