Samal gov’t eyes submarine cable for stable power supply

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — After years of unfulfilled promises of a submarine cable from the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco) to stabilize its power supply, the Samal Island city government decided it could no longer wait.

Samal Island decided to spend P300 million and build the submarine cable that would link the resort city to the Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Co. (DLPC).

Samal Island Mayor Al David Uy said Nordeco, holder of the congressional franchise to distribute power on the island, was given until June 30 this year to undertake the project but the electric cooperative failed to deliver on its promise.

READ: Samal Island under state of calamity due to power crisis

“Dili na mi kaagwanta (We could not take it anymore). That’s why we need to do something to solve the problem,” the mayor said, referring to the recurring brownouts that resulted in as much as P150 million in economic losses a year for the city.

Samal Island has been under a state of calamity since March 2023 because of the recurring brownouts.

If the power situation on the island will not improve, the city government plans to extend the state of calamity declaration until the end of his term in June next year, added Uy.

The calamity declaration allowed the city government to procure generation sets as a temporary solution to the power problem. But at the height of extreme temperatures experienced by the country in April and May this year, the capacity of the generation sets to deliver power also reduced significantly, Uy explained.

Dismayed

Samal Island’s government, along with local tourism players, had lobbied for the island city to be included in the franchise coverage of the DLPC and were devastated when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed the bill that would extend the power company’s expanded franchise, Uy said.

According to the mayor, the city government opted to take the lead in addressing its power supply problem after the 15-kilometer submarine cable from Aundanao on Samal Island to Pantukan, Davao Oriental, that Nordeco had promised would be online by the end of 2023 failed to materialize.

He said the submarine cable that the city would build will cover some 2 km to Davao City to tap power from the DLPC and bring it to the island, adding that the procurement process would begin in the third and fourth quarter this year, with the project expected to be completed in two to three years.

“We will not be violating any law because we will not be distributing power. We will serve as power producer and will sell the power to Nordeco,” Uy said.

No other choice

“We appeal to the national government to understand our situation. We are already very hesitant to promote Samal Island as a tourist destination because of our recurring power problem. There are long lines of vehicles at the ferry wharf, then when they arrive here, there’s a brownout, who won’t get angry? At the back of my mind, I’m really hesitant to invite tourists, especially those who come to Samal Island for the first time,” said the mayor.

Right now, he said, no hospital or clinics would even want to locate on the island city for fear that the recurring brownouts would ruin expensive medical equipment.

He said the P300 million for the submarine cabling project would have been spent for education and health-care services but the power problem had become so pressing that he could see no other better recourse.

Uy said the 3.9-km bridge connecting Samal Island to Davao City that is now being constructed would bring more power supply woes to his city because of the expected economic upsurge that would create more demand for electricity.

“People think that once the bridge comes, the stable power supply will follow. No, it’s not that easy. The power problem will be 10 times worse if we don’t do something about it,” he said.