Asian Energy Advisors - Latest Comments

Re: DOE List of Philippines Power Plants

lhyne — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:25:06 -0000

hi nick can u give some existing power plants in the philippines ?

Re: Systems Loss - My View

Nick Nichols — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:26:19 -0000

Rene - thanks for weighing in on the discussion.

We need MORE of the sector's knowledgeable people to weigh in on this so we can move toward some meaningful practices in the area of loss analysis and reduction. The analysis of losses is still a HUGE problem for the DUs; well, at least for the cooperatives.

Re: Systems Loss - My View

renesol — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:04:18 -0000

The Loss Segregation is noble idea of a project, but unfortunately it is deeply flawed. The model does not consider source voltage measurements, source demand measurements, weather impact and loading factors, loops, wandering laterals, switching operations during the billing period covered, the load components (I/Z/PQ), neutral connection to ground for multiground systems, earth resistivity, actual conductor spacing and height, actual different phase conductors in a segment, harmonic impact, line conductor and equipment aging and deterioration among others. Most utilities looked up to heaven and then bowed their heads to create diurnal curves that did not consider variances in consumption patterns during weekday days, weekend days, and peak day of the billing period as well as the weather loading factors and coincidence factors and load pick ups. Funny, but, the thousands of Distribution transformer primary and secondary jumpers were ignored by the UP segregation software. And mind you, ERC and NEA were dragged into the sales promotion activities for the software because in 2005 (contrary to the consultant's vehement denial in his letter to the ERC that they are not promoting or selling any software!), the Segregator became available to the commercial market as DSAS. They tricked the NEA and the ERC, so it just goes to show that the guys behind the Loss Segregation were up to fatten their pocktes from a captured market.

I wonder how many electrical practitioners are in the utilities, and at the height of the loss segegation, very few raised a finger. I wonder what cowed them.

With all due respect, as I am not a PEE nor masters or doctorate degree holder in Electrical Engineering, data gathering should have been first implemented... Now data gathering involves substation and feeder metering (volts, demands, and power factor), precisely calibrated consumer energy meters and customer class load loggers. How can one run a realistic loss calculation based on load curves when there are no load loggers in the first place? And those who have one, logged data for a week on a residential class customer, then the next week on a commercial class, and so on... All because the poor guys in the utilties were sorely pressed for time to beat the submission deadline. The loss computation should also account naturally for the loads, and this is also bloody tough.. Utilities have to go from customer to customer to count the quantities and ratings of each type of electrical appliance of each customer. Customer loads naturally affect losses and the magnitude of losses depend on the load power factor. Surveying the secondary line sections and the customer service drops is no quick and easy task. The second part of the segregation is projecting the losses to five years from the base year, and such projection should be spatial or in layman's term, geographic map based. Sadly, just a few utilities have any reliable Geographic information system (GIS). Now, the issue of maps was skirted by the Segregation consultants claiming that a map is not needed in a load flow... a testament that the project proponents ignore their own guidelines.

The Segregator is very primitive compared to SynerGEE. In all aspects of power system modeling like data handling, circuit validation, objects modeled, SynerGEE is superior to the Loss segregator software. You can't use that segregator template for the Loss Segregation itself as too many factors are missing, and it would be tragic to use the segregator for CAPEX, power quality, protection, reliability and engineering economics analysis.

Pilferage is an unknown quantity, so the technical loss computation by using simulation softwares like SynerGEE is needed in the equation towards determining the extent of other losses. Simulation software is not just the only tool in loss reduction. Demand meters, thermal scanners, source meters among others are also needed. The simulation results only form a part of the basis to monitor suspected pilferers. A geo-centric model such as provided by SynerGEE fast tracks the resolving of loss contributory issues such as defective customer kwhr meters, loose connections, pilferage, switch placement, capacitor location, co-generation, etc.

Looking back, the Loss Segregation was hastily implemented for reasons subject to wild speculations. Many major loss factors were ignored. Thank God, there were few utilities and engineers who were discerning enough with their practical senses and stood firm on their ground.

Re: A Double-E Blog

Donny — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:35:51 -0000

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Re: DOE List of Philippines Power Plants

royteo — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:43:32 -0000

Hi Nick,

My name is Roy Teo from Finnsonic SEA Pte Ltd, based in Singapore. We are the subsidary of Finnsonic Oy, manufacturer of cleaning machine, based in Finland. We have a range of cleaning (ultrasonic and spray) and inspection machine (fluorescent penetrant inspection line) for the power plants. Some cleaning part example as follow.
-thermal rotating equipment
-process filters
-gas turbine parts
-power plant intercoolers etc......
With your expertise in power plant in Philippines. Do you think we can work out something?

Re: A Bad Idea from Nasecore

Nick Nichols — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:22:48 -0000

I absolutely agree.

Re: A Bad Idea from Nasecore

guest — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:13:53 -0000

I think consumer's have the right to know how their goods are priced.
It's a very complicated thing for an ordinary citizen to understand but the point is that no over commercialism is practiced.

Re: DOE List of Philippines Power Plants

fritzie pascua — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:32:20 -0000

thank you very much mr. nick, youre such a great big help.
God Bless!

Cheers!
fritzie

Re: DOE List of Philippines Power Plants

Nick Nichols — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:49:38 -0000

Unfortunately I don't have such a list. Try the ERC site http://www.erc.gov.ph They should have a list of power plants/companies that have been issued a COC - Certificate of Compliance.

Re: DOE List of Philippines Power Plants

fritzie pascua — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:44:18 -0000

hello Mr. nick,
may i ask the name of the small power plants here in the Philippines and their contact numbers?

Thank you very much
fritzie

Re: DOE List of Philippines Power Plants

Nick Nichols — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:23:24 -0000

Joe: What's the company? What's your 'connection'? What's your name?

Re: DOE List of Philippines Power Plants

joe — Sat, 16 May 2009 08:55:09 -0000

hi nick

i'am connected in a company servicing motors & generators...
the company i work with is the biggest & most advance in technology here in Philippines..
can you give me some of your contacts?..
thanks...

Re: I’m Off to Kabul This Week

Nick Nichols — Sat, 09 May 2009 21:19:35 -0000

BongV: I'm not extremely close to the solar activities here. Here's a link to an older Businessweek article on solar manufacturing in Philippines. http://www.businessweek.com/gl...

Since the Philippines has a significant (or had, before the economic crisis) electronic fabrication industry, there are support facilities for manufacturing solar cells, I would think.

I presume SunPower is still manufacturing here - they made a significant investment and had an initial capacity of about 25 MW per year, I believe.

Aid agencies continue to fund significant amounts of rural roof top systems in poor, off-grid areas. There is at least one (probably more) private operators selling rooftop systems to upscale homes.

Re: I’m Off to Kabul This Week

BongV — Sat, 09 May 2009 21:06:02 -0000

Hi Nick:

Read your post on Filipinovoices.com

When are you returning to the Philippines?

I wanted to ask you about the prospects for solar energy and home energy in the Philippines - sourcing of solar cells, possibility of manufacturing solar cells in the philippines, etc.

Re: DOE List of Philippines Power Plants

RAMSES PURBA — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:15:10 -0000

Hi Mr Nick

Can you give me the list of email addres of the power plant company in Philipinesl, especially which use coal and Diesel for source of energy, because I want to send the for them to offer coal from Indonesia

Re: An ERC “No Brainer”?

Nick Nichols — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:50:08 -0000

I have a hunch that the Commissioners, as a whole, perceive that it is not in their personal best interest for quick and full public promulgation of ALL of their Decisions, Orders, and Announcements. I think that is misguided, because the web allows us to talk about that in a way we could not do before. The sooner they move to timely disclosure, the better off for them (as well as us).

Certainly using Twitter won't make the rate setting process transparent. But it will open the door to, or put pressure on, increased transparency. At least we could get timely notifications of publicly released Announcements and Decisions. It won't prevent the Commissioner's from delaying posting certain Decisions to the web. And it won't make the Decisions themselves any more transparent than they choose to write up.

Re: An ERC “No Brainer”?

MrGam — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:35:34 -0000

Nick, on the other hand, ERC has the brains. If they used Twitter, that would make the rate setting process very transparent. Then they would not be able to make lightning speed decisions such as the one issued on March 23 on the reduction of the increase in the generation charge for the Visayas (reduce the increase? hmm). The hearings in Cebu ended in the afternoon of Friday and the decision was out on Monday. Could this have been done if the stenographic transcripts were posted as soon as they were fully transcribed? The posting of the decision would have been made earlier than the posting of the stenographic notes.

Re: My Presentation Slide Decks

Nick Nichols — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:47:43 -0000

Ha ha! It was an April Fool's Joke by SlideShare. They inserted two zero's in the numbers. I wasn't "totally" taken in, but then again, I guess I was.

At least I erred on the side of more marketing, not less.

Re: The Asian Energy Dance Hall Society

Nick Nichols — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:40:51 -0000

Re-reading one of my favorite posts from 2006 today makes me want to reconsider the name for this group. Maybe "The One Percenters."

Re: This Is a Blog. It’s Always Been a Blog.

MrGam — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:36:53 -0000

That depends on what you are trying to sell. Me, I'm sold to your idea of crowdsourcing the improvement of the Philippine power sector. However, I must admit that I know nothing abut crowdsourcing. I only have the elementary idea of what it can do. So, please lead the way, you got one customer that thinks he has time to spare while waiting at the "pre-departure" area - I am a senior citizen and I think time is running out on me. I have realized too late that I have wasted a lot of time being busy with things that have not produced much meaning to my life.

Re: This Is a Blog. It’s Always Been a Blog.

Nick Nichols — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:47:12 -0000

Well in this case I feel it's totally my fault. I'm not the best marketer in the world. Heh heh.

Re: This Is a Blog. It’s Always Been a Blog.

MrGam — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:44:00 -0000

“If I have time. I’m very busy.” actually meant "I don't want to be exposed as an ignorant and pretentious incumbent to the most important job in this department. That can jeopardize my retirement."

Re: We Have Complex Work To Do

MrGam — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:49:25 -0000

Actually, the Commissioner's suggestion was for the petitioners to make an effort to make a presentation of their case to the intervenors which could help in the faster resolution of issues and perhaps reduce the time spent in the formal hearings. I was the one that called it a "non-adversarial approach" because I already had in mind your crowdsourcing proposal. The hearing did bring together people that could start forming the crowd. Picking up from Nancy's message, we need to have collaborators to form the crowd and not adversaries raring to defend their positions in cyberspace.

This was also my response to Commissioner Rauf Tan's tongue-in-cheek observation during a break in the hearings when he noticed me requesting to load a file into the laptop of a PSALM officer. Jokingly, he smiled and said "That is called sleeping with the enemy.", to which I replied, "No, this is non-adversarial engagement."

Re: We Have Complex Work To Do

Nick Nichols — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:37:32 -0000

MrGam - Thanks for the comments and for the update of what happened at the Cebu Hearings. That's very helpful

I'm totally stumped by what Commissioner Reyes meant by "non-adversarial approach" but having the parties conference among themselves and then come back to subsequently continue the Hearing process is a common regulatory technique for reaching solutions.

The "peanut butter" approach to the rate design is precisely what the Napocor filing requested. In fact, their filing used that term, specifically. So it sounds as if the ERC staff is supporting the NPC approach. But I'm not sure why they would support that. And frankly it doesn't matter what the staff thinks. The Commission is perfectly capable of disagreeing with their own staff and in fact that happens surprisingly often in the U.S.

Well, I suppose this is already the start of crowdsourcing the ERC case. It may seem as if this is a conversation between two people, but I can promise you many others are reading it and already putting it to use.

There are a number of ways to better facilitate a wider exchange of ideas. We could try some. Let me think a bit. I'll propose something. Others can suggest here also. Maybe it's not too late to get something going on this case.

Re: We Have Complex Work To Do

MrGam — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:04:25 -0000

I agree with Nancy and subscribe to your crowd-sourcing idea although I have never participated in one. Two nights of cramming for the ERC hearing in Cebu on the ERC/PSALM petition brought me to your site. I wish I had found it earlier. I was able to refer your observation about the TOU implementation of the proposed increase and noticed that the ERC PA suggested an across-the-board implementation or what they called the "peanut butter" implementation.

Upon the suggestion of the ERC Commissioner, NPC/PSALM lawyers and their witnesses agreed with some intervenors to try a non-adversarial approach to this complex and complicated issue of rate setting for power. Nancy's post and what I gathered from this blog made it easy for me to agree to the suggestion and even offered to look for a venue where virtual meetings and exchange of ideas could take place. Would this be a start of you crowd-sourcing proposal? How do we proceed? I have uploaded some NPC files at http://rpweb.ph/Uploads/erc_fi...

My profile may also be found at http://reklamo.ph/maritimewatc... and why I am interested in the stuff that you have here may also be explained at http://among.reklamo.ph

Yes, we have some complex work to do....