Consunji Predicts 2023 to be Most Challenging for Power Sector

Isidro Consunji, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) has mentioned that the power conditions of Luzon can experience challenges in the incoming two years, and noted that 2023 would be the “most challenging”

According to Consunji, the challenge for 2023 would be tight margins of supply and demand, plus a possible increase in prices in the year after.

Consunji also mentioned that “I think 2023 is the most challenging, more than 2024 because, in 2023, the LNG is not ready. So, next year, there may not be enough (supply),”

He goes on to mention that a potential brownout may come from a power plant conk during the summer of 2023.

“For 2024, it (LNG) is ready, so there will be no brownout, but it may be more expensive. I think 2024 is not so challenging because the LNG is there already. The issue is price,”  Consunji says.

Consunji goes on to say that the price of LNG would be around 50% more expensive than coal.

“So, we will have power, but it’s going to be more expensive than today, that’s the problem,”

Meanwhile, Department of Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla is predicting a “difficult” first half of the year concerning the state of power in the country.

Secretary Lotilla noted that the difficult period is during summer when the hot months roll in, which is the reason why the Philippines would require all sources of power to pass over the period.

Source: Philstar