MANILA, (PIA) -- As the country braces for even warmer weather this April, Senator Win Gatchalian urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to immediately implement stop-gap measures to address an expected yellow alert in areas covered by the Luzon grid due to the ongoing El Niño weather aberration.

“The DOE should immediately form an El Niño task force to convene all power plants and distribution utilities to plan for contingency measures, including the implementation of the Interruptible Load Program (ILP),” Gatchalian said. Under the program, participating consumers will be compensated should they use their own generating facilities in case of a power supply shortage.

According to Gatchalian, the DOE should ensure that power-generating plants, as well as transmission facilities, adhere to the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program (GOMP). The program contains all the maintenance schedules of power plants, substations and transmission lines.

Furthermore, the DOE should encourage consumers to be mindful of their energy use during the summer months and utilize energy-efficient products.

The DOE has earlier revealed that El Niño has adversely affected the operations of several hydroelectric plants and could jeopardize energy supply in areas covered by the Luzon grid from April to May.

“The DOE needs to ensure that energy consumers in the Luzon grid are not placed in a precarious situation of experiencing power interruption especially since the summer season is now in full effect,” said Gatchalian, who serves as vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Energy.  A yellow alert indicates that the supply available to the grid has fallen below a designated safety margin.

“It’s critical that the government is able to provide sufficient energy supply at all times, especially during summer months. The impact of a supply shortage on the economy could be devastating and we must all work together to ensure that every consumer’s electricity requirement is sufficiently met,” he added. (PIA-NCR)