Chiz to Comelec: Present Contingency Plan for Brownout during Polls
Sorsogon Gov. Chiz Escudero is asking the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to present its contingency plan in case of a power outage during the May 9 voting, and the period of counting and canvassing.
With power supply barely keeping up with demand during the summer months, Escudero said the COMELEC cannot leave anything to chance as it holds one of the most heated national and local elections.
“Ang no-el na kinatatakutan natin ngayon ay hindi na yung ‘no elections,’ kundi yung ‘no electricity.’ Kaya gusto nating malaman ano ba ang plano ng COMELEC sakaling mawalan ng kuryente, lalo na sa labas ng Metro Manila. Hindi sapat na sabihin na may plano—ano yung plano? Ano yung protocol?” Escudero said.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, which operates, maintains and develops state-owned power grid, warned of a “thin power supply” in Luzon in the dry months due to the spike in demand. This means there is very little power supply in excess of the projected demand.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has projected total peak demand of 12,387 MW for Luzon, albeit in the last week of May, which is a 747 MW increase from the actual peak load of 11,640 MW in the same period last year. The Visayas and Mindanao demands peak in December and August, respectively.
“Kaakibat ng pag-automate natin ng eleksyon, partikular ng counting at canvassing, ang pag-depende natin sa kuyente at teknolohiya. Kaya iyan ang isang bagay na napakahalagang i-secure tuwing eleksyon at bilangan. Ang DOE na mismo ang nagsabi na ‘di nila masisiguradong hindi magkaka-brownout sa May 9, so kung ganon, ano ang contingency plan ng COMELEC?” Escudero said.
He said it was important for the poll body to present its plan to show transparency and build confidence in the automated election process.
The country’s automated elections require the use of thousands of vote counting machines (VCM), consolidation or canvassing system machines, VCM external batteries, transmission devices, and generator sets.
The COMELEC deployed 97,345 VCMs in the 2019 elections but it has signed a contract for another 10,000 VCMs this year, which means there will be an additional 10,000 polling precincts in May. #
