MCWD appeals to power utilities: ‘Spare pumping stations from rotational brownouts’

Local

ROTATIONAL brownouts have reduced the Metropolitan Cebu Water District’s (MCWD) daily water production by about 17,000 cubic meters, affecting water supply for domestic and commercial customers across its service area.

Engr. Rainier Quiñones, manager of MCWD’s Production and Distribution Department, said the utility’s production has fallen from its normal capacity of about 290,000 cubic meters per day to an average of 268,000 cubic meters because of two- to three-hour rotational power interruptions over the past three to four months.

Quiñones said production has slightly improved in recent weeks, reaching about 272,000 to 273,000 cubic meters per day, but rotational brownouts continue to affect MCWD facilities in mainland Cebu, Mactan and other areas including Consolacion, Compostela, Liloan, Talisay and Mandaue.

MCWD has asked the Visayan Electric Co. (VECO) and Mactan Electric Co. (MECO), the power distribution utilities serving parts of Metro Cebu, to exempt its pumping stations from rotational outages to prevent further reductions in water production.

“We are appealing to our partners if we could spare our pumping station because it could also affect our daily production performance,” Quiñones said during the MyTV Openline news forum on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

MCWD operates 169 pumping stations and also receives bulk water from suppliers, including Carmen Bulk Water. Its facilities include those in Talamban, Tisa and Jaclupan.

Quiñones said only some major facilities have backup generators, while other independent and online pumping stations remain dependent on VECO or MECO for power.

He said MCWD also faces difficulty deploying generator sets because some of its backup units are located in areas such as Liloan and Talisay, making it difficult to bring them to affected facilities within a two- to three-hour outage window.

Quiñones said MCWD needs earlier notice of scheduled rotational brownouts to prepare its operations and prevent a further decline in production.

He added that the utility has been coordinating with VECO and MECO but does not have direct communication with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which supplies information on power interruptions to the distribution utilities.

Meanwhile, MCWD is preparing for the projected peak of El Niño from December 2026 to June 2027.

Quiñones said MCWD expects surface water sources, particularly the Mananga Dam and Buhisan River, to be more vulnerable during the El Niño period, while its deep-well groundwater sources are expected to be less affected.

MCWD currently produces about 165,000 cubic meters of groundwater and around 90,000 cubic meters of surface water daily under normal conditions.

During the 2024 El Niño, total production dropped by about 40,000 to 50,000 cubic meters per day, with daily production falling from around 290,000 cubic meters to about 240,000 cubic meters during the peak.

To offset a potential decline in supply, MCWD has lined up additional water sources and efficiency measures that Quiñones said could provide a combined 40,400 cubic meters per day.

These include an additional 10,000 cubic meters per day from desalinated water in Mambaling, increasing its supply from 5,000 to 15,000 cubic meters beginning December.

Another 5,000 cubic meters per day of desalinated water will be added in Opao, Mandaue, starting December.

MCWD also plans to increase its Carmen Bulk Water supply from the current 30,000 cubic meters per day to between 37,000 and 40,000 cubic meters per day beginning December.

Eight new pumping stations are also expected to become operational before the end of the year, adding about 5,800 cubic meters per day.

The utility also plans to reduce its non-revenue water from 29% to 27%, which Quiñones said could generate another 5,000 cubic meters per day.

Four pumping stations awaiting MECO and VECO power connections are expected to contribute an additional 3,200 cubic meters per day.

Quiñones said these measures are intended to compensate for the projected reduction in water production during El Niño.

On possible water rate increases to fund MCWD's programs, Quiñones said the utility cannot unilaterally increase its charges because it is a government-owned and controlled corporation. He said MCWD must secure approval from the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) before implementing any increase.

“As far as I'm concerned, the price of water currently compared to previous one and even last year is basically the same,” Quiñones said.(MyTVCebu)