Blackouts

The main difference between a brownout and a blackout is the amount of voltage being supplied to an area. Brownout means that the amount of voltage being supplied is lesser than normal while blackout means no voltage is being supplied or it's a complete power outage.

- Ask.com

Okay. Now that we know the difference, it's time to rant. Davao City is currently experiencing its worse blackout season ever. Because of a shortage in available electricity, Davao Light, the power distribution company, has put in place a schedule of power interruptions, causing rotating blackouts with durations of at least 2-4 hours. 

It's unprecedented and, soon, those durations are going to get longer. It's a classic case of government sitting on its ass and not investing time forecasting demand or planning for future higher power requirements.

Some columnists have already pointed out that the highly anticipated Mindanao Power Summit, attended by no less than the President last 2012, was a joke. Two years since then, blackouts are still common nuisances. The power plants being built now should have been built a decade ago but nobody, I guess, thought that was a sensible thing to do before.

So here we are, left wringing our hands at the incompetency of those who are presiding over this mess.

Here's a link to a previous related post.

Postscript: 

Papa had shared to us about a certain friend working in government before who was tasked to submit a proposal mapping out the energy plan for Mindanao. That task was way back during the Ramos presidency. Unfortunately, the submitted proposal was in limbo during the Erap presidency and went unnoticed during the Arroyo presidency (because the president then was busy fighting for her political life). 

In sum, there was action and it was unfair to me to generalize initially. However, the fact remains that though there was action, it wasn't followed through. 

Two decades could have been enough to craft an action plan centering on the promotion of renewable sources of energy for Mindanao. Now, because of lack of time, government is busy promoting coal plants as the best solution to the energy crisis while the rest of the world is weaning away from coal energy. Pretty pathetic, right?