Electricity rationed in Koronadal City, So. Cotabato

KORONADAL CITY - Power has been rationed in this city and in South Cotabato due to preventive maintenance in Mindanao sources of energy, officials said today.Santiago Tudio, general manager of South Cotabato Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO-1), said preventive maintenance being undertaken at Unit 1 of Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant and it has affected power supply in its service area.Because of this, aone-hour rotational brownout is taking place in Koroandal City and in South Cotabato, Tudio said.Compounding the power shortage is the limited supply produced by the Pulangi IVHydro Power Plant due to recent drought. Tudio said to augment the power supply, SOCOTECO-1 13-megawatt generator set is operating full blast.He admitted that the consumers'power bills next month will slightly increase due to fuel charges for the generator.