The Yule season is just around the corner and we hear old Christmas carols playing on the radio or stereophonic players on every mall, bazaar, and household.
I remember when walking on the sidewalks of Avenida Rizal in my younger years. I catched a whiff of roasting chestnuts and the faint ocean-like aroma of inihaw na pusit that lingers in your nostrils.
It had been a tradition in our family that after the First Sunday of Advent mass we put up our Christmas decors and lights, lighted Belen and parol. We made sure that every window and corner of the house is outlined with blinking bright Christmas lights.
Perhaps, this Sunday only the Belen, parol, and some windows will be lighted. The lights will have to be put off earlier than before to conserve energy and to save on the bill.
We have to lessen the use of electricity as the power bill is rising. We are feeling the crunch! MERALCO had announced that power rates will increase in the following days.
Fast forward, the summer is going to be difficult for the people in Luzon and some parts of the country who will be experiencing power outages next year.
Electricity rates will also be costly for power consumers as power distributors like MERALCO have to get to their supply from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) operated power plants.
Now that the economy is trying to recover from the pandemic the demand for power energy is expected to increase.
At the height of the pandemic in 2020 power consumption across the country dropped by 4.04 percent to 101,756 gigawatt-hours (GWh) largely due to the Luzon-wide lock-down that close down business operations in the region.
However residential consumption jumped to 34,929 GHw from 2019’s 30,552 GHW as most people were forced to stay at home.
MERALCO has announced that typical households in Metro Manila would see an increase of P65 in their monthly bill this November for a 200 kilowatt-hour (KHw) consumption. A higher generation charge rate for the month inched up by ₱0.3256/kWh to ₱9.4630/kWh from ₱9.1374/kWh registered in October.
Note that when Malampaya shut down its operations for their scheduled maintenance in the last two weeks of October MERALCO got its power supply from LPG-fired power plants which are more costly in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
Not enough maintenance works were implemented for several power plants during the pandemic due to travel restrictions. Companies were not able to bring technical advisors they rely on for maintenance during the scheduled outages of their units.
Some power plants will go on with their planned maintenance next year and that will affect power generation.
What is more concerning is the recent announcement of the Malampaya gas field operators that they are scheduling at least four "production holds" or gas restriction occurrences next year, Meaning a reduction of gas supply to power generators that would in effect result in power outages.
The Malampaya gas resource is depleting and is said to be out of supply by 2027. It is now imperative for the government to explore new gas reserves.
Another concern for the power consumers is the shift of power plants using fossil fuel specifically coal to "green" alternative fuels.
This shift is the outcome of the COP26 summit on climate change in Glasgow. The aim of COP26 is to become low-carbon societies to limit global warming to below 2 centigrade.
Most power plants in the country are coal-fired. Our coal is supplied by Indonesia that will also do away with fossil fuel.
The shift will pass through a transition phase. Power consumers will carry the burden of higher electricity rates and the impact of power outages as a result of a gradual shift.
International funding institutions will no longer fund projects on fossil fuels. Locally, Ayala Corporation power subsidiaries and Aboitiz among others will go for the 'green" alternative fuel.
We are facing an energy disaster and we power consumers ignore the energy crisis until we wake up to a darkened hot and costly reality.
The coming election will not be just about personalities.
The issue of power energy is taking importance in the coming polls. While personalities will figure in the elections, we must also think more about who among these personalities can address and solve the energy crisis we are about to face.
The government and the political candidates should present a comprehensive program on securing energy.
Economic recovery post-pandemic cannot be fully attained without solving the looming energy crisis.