Brownouts are part of life here in the Philippines. Those of us that live in, or near, the bigger cities are generally spared the frequency that those in the outer areas experience them. That’s recently changed for us in the Davao area.
It seems we’ve been put on a scheduled rotation with daily brownouts. The terms brownout and blackout are used interchangeably here, and I’ve heard various opinions in regards to the terms, but what I’m going to use for now is – brownout = scheduled, blackout = unscheduled. Regardless of the term you are fond of, we’ll be without electricity, and therefore water after 30 minutes, for 1-2 hours daily. For how long? That hasn’t been stated specifically, but potentially until the next power plant comes on board.
For those not from this region, the impetus for these scheduled brownouts was the region wide blackout that we had in Mindanao a couple weeks ago. From what I’ve heard it hit most of the region. It lasted quite a few hours for most, days for others. Many were out of water for a day or more, also. They’ve blamed that on various equipment issues and lack of capacity.
The article I referenced discusses the short-term issues and the longer term solutions to the lack of power in the region. Since most things don’t go as planned here, when there is a plan, I’m expecting it take a while (American version of that term) longer than is being mentioned. Whether or not the scheduled brownouts are a short-term issue or not, also remains to be seen.
Davao Light has prepared a schedule so at least we know the time frame in which to expect the brownouts. For the most part it’s a 4-5 hour window, and you don’t know if it will be 1 hour or 2, but at least you have an idea. It will help us schedule laundry, and to make sure there is enough water for what we might need to do during the brownout time. No, it’s not convenient, but least there IS a schedule.
Given that we will have daily outages it appears I’ll need to do a little more with regards to preparation. So far we’ve always gotten by with candles and some flashlights. I believe I need to invest in some of the rechargeable emergency LED lights that are available around town. They even have a model that has a fan and radio, though they aren’t cheap. It would be nice to have one of those around at times. The fan would be great at night, as last night we lost power for several hours in the middle of the night, in addition to the scheduled brownout.
I’m still campaigning for the slogan to be, “It’s always an adventure in the Philippines.”
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Mar 16, 2014 @ 00:29:28
where does davao get its power do they have big dams or is it all coal plants
Mar 16, 2014 @ 06:43:55
I believe it’s a combination of coal and hydroelectric. The one coming onboard later this year (?) is coal.
Mar 18, 2014 @ 19:43:51
Randy,
Suggest you get solar power. With the abundance of sun and the relatively high electricity prices the Philippines must be the country to go sun power. It also means you can be independent of the unreliable power supply. That is what I am planning to do when I build our house in 2 years from now.
Anton
Mar 18, 2014 @ 21:08:21
I had hoped to do at least some solar back when I still thought that I’d be building on Samal. The cost to do solar is still quite high. If you can afford it, there are some advantages.
Since I don’t have the funds or the space to do it now, it’s not a realistic option for me. Even though the cost of electricity is high here, one’s bill isn’t necessarily outrageous, if you live in a normal Philippine sized home. The real advantage to the solar is the availably of the power.
Some people have backup generators, but those can be expensive to run.
Good luck with your solar project. I’d be very interested to know how it turns out for you.
Mar 18, 2014 @ 21:03:49
I just say “brownout.” The term’s pretty much ubiquitous and easier that way.
Though I may or may not have said the word in a combination of expletives depending of time of day (high noon heat, late night FTP submission or a groggy/defeated 3am).
Mar 18, 2014 @ 21:14:34
I think most people do just use brownout. I see the news and other outlets throwing in blackout from time to time.
I grabbed one of those led/fans from Ace Hardware. It was a new model without the radio. Firefly branded. P1729. Charged it up, but haven’t had to use it yet, except in testing. Seems plenty bright enough. They seemed to be selling lots of them. I wonder why
Mar 24, 2014 @ 00:45:27
Dear Randy,
I am engaged to a woman from Samal and she just went back home to Anonang.
Her internet is terribly slow and we are googling the best possible choice of connection / provider. Could you be so kind to give an advice on the best provider and we need to go Davao or is there a service center / contact on Samal ?
Mar 24, 2014 @ 06:33:40
Hi Jeroen,
I’m afraid there is no “right” answer for Samal. Internet is inconsistent and coupled with brownouts, you are probably going to have to live with the slow connections.
I”ve heard more people have luck with Globe Tatoo, the USB stick, than anything, but it depends on where you are. One of my friends, even had to move the stick around in his house to find the best connection. With that it is still terribly slow at times.
As far as I know there is now good solution for Samal at this time.
Mar 24, 2014 @ 00:46:28
Hi,
sorry forgot to say thanks in advance. Too much searching into the subject.
best regards,
Jeroen