As I have written several times over the past few weeks, Mindanao is experiencing a pretty extreme power shortage. Davao, I am happy to continue reporting, is still experiencing far fewer brownouts than much of the Island. This is thanks to Davao Light and Power Corporation’s power generating plant in Bajada. Every time that I drive through there and hear the generators humming away, I always feel thankful to be living in Davao City.
Here in Davao, at least in my neighborhood we have been having two hour brownouts around two or three times each week. It could get much worse, the longer we go with no solution to this problem, though.
A few days ago I read a news article that really made my eyes open wide. It said that if it starts raining here in June, which is when Summer here ends, then the power situation in Mindanao will be back to normal in December. What? December? Well, basically, that would mean that we went through nearly an entire year of regular power interruptions here in Mindanao. That’s a long time. When I read that, I decided that it was time that I come up with a strategy that would help make life a little easier, even with no power, especially if things tend to get worse in Davao, as they undoubtedly will if we go another 3 months before it starts raining significantly.
One of the things that is important to remember is that when we have brownouts they don’t cover the whole city, just selected areas of the city at any given time. So, if there is no electricity in one neighborhood, you don’t have to go far to find a neighborhood where there is electricity. So, with a little planning, you can actually come out OK.
My first strategy is that I put off doing things that I need to do, until there is no power. For example, if I need to go to the mall to purchase something, or go to a friend’s house to assist him with something, I try to wait until there is a brownout at my house before I do that. Firstly, if you go to the mall, they certainly have power, because the malls have generators that they turn on when the power on the grid is interrupted. So, if a trip to a store is needed that day, I just do my work in the morning until the power goes off. When the power goes off, I take a shower (which also helps you stay cool!), then I go to the mall to take care of my business. When I am at the mall, I can buy whatever I need that day, enjoy the air conditioning at the mall, do some roaming around and such until I have killed two hours and the power will be back online at my house. I find this to be an excellent way to deal with brownouts.
If it happens that I need to keep working while there is no power, my next strategy is to take my laptop to a coffee shop that has WiFi Internet Access. If I do this, I can continue getting my work done, have a couple of cups of coffee, maybe see some friends and say hi, and generally just get out and enjoy two hours while still working. This is not my first choice, though, because I prefer to work in my home office, and also, if there is a brownout, I like to get away from my work for a couple of hours and stimulate my mind by doing something else.
Another strategy that I have not tried yet, but plan to is to go get some exercise while there is no power at home. I used to go swimming every day, 5 days per week, but I have gotten out of the habit. If there is no electricity, preventing me from working, why not get back into the good habit of getting some good exercise by swimming? Not only will I stay cool, but will also be doing something that I should be doing anyway! I have to get started on this in the coming week!
Generally, for any of us who are experiencing these too frequent brownouts, it’s not great, but we can turn it into something good by using the down time to do something else with our time that is still productive. In the past, I would just go sit down and wait for the electricity to return. I would be hot and sweaty, and would get upset about the fact that there was no power. However, there really is not a lot that can be done quickly to get the power situation turned around, and really there is not a thing I can do about it anyway, so why not turn a bad situation into something good, or at least better?
Hi Bob,
Have you thought about also renting an office that is on a different grid? I have heard that office space is relatively inexpensive. You could have that available for you or for employees to use. Or is that just overkill?
Hi Tom – Personally, I don’t really think that is feasible. Right now we are only experiencing 4 to 6 hours per week without power in Davao, so it is fairly minor. However, as things get worse, and they are predicted to get much worse, it could get so bad that I will consider temporarily relocating to Cebu or somewhere else outside of Mindanao. A friend of mine who lives here in Davao, and also has needs for computers and such for his business, and I have been discussing the possibility of getting an apartment together in Cebu if worsening electricity conditions come to pass. At least it will keep the business up and running.
Smart of you to plan ahead. Yes, an apartment would likely work well. It might also give you the opportunity to see what it is like to spend significant time in other parts of the Philippines.
Hi Tom – Yeah, that is indeed another benefit! 😆
Bob: wouldn’t a decent generator be cheaper / easier over the long run?
Hi John – A generator would be great and I might buy one. It won’t solve my problem, though. I need to keep my businesses going, and for that I need Internet. The ISP’s don’t have power either, and thus don’t have Internet. Some of them have generators, but they are not reliable during brownout. So, wold a generator be cheaper? Sure, but I wold still have the same problem.
No chance a satellite Internet connection would work for you? (as long as you have the generator!)
Hi John – Absolutely, it sure will work! As I wrote in a previous comment in this article, though, it’s $1500 per month for a satellite link here. Want to pitch in and help pay for it? 😆
By the way… for those who are advocating a generator, just one more thing… right now, there are no generators available here. They have all been bought. Merchants here say that they have generators on order from Manila, but can get no deliveries, because Manila is also in short supply, and doesn’t want to release the few that they have. At least this is what is in the news.
Cebu? Versus a generator?
Hi Lenny – If you can tell me how a generator will keep my Internet businesses going, I’ll gladly do it. But, the Internet providers also have no power when the juice is off. So, I don’t see how the game is Cebu vs. Generator.
Bob: Unfortunately, I can tell you from my recent experiences with SMART here in Manila, the same problems are happening… Also at the base stations. My Internet has been down no less that 10 times in the last month. Apparently, when the power comes back on, it surges and blows out their relays (This was the explanation given to me… I’ve learned not to even suggest things like surge protectors.) Since this is nationwide, it may or may not be happening in a different location. Unfortunately, you won’t know until it happens. Perhaps a service to monitor in the event Davao goes down (If there were anyone reputable enough that you could trust somewhat).
I am sorry, John, but I would not say that is is a nationwide thing. Yes, there are brownouts in Manila and everywhere else, but in Mindanao we are having a lot more brownouts. Most of Mindanao is having a minimum of 12 hours per day of brownouts now – EVERY day! There is talk that within weeks, Mindanao could be under a complete blackout – NO power at all for anybody. That just is not happening anywhere else in the country. As of now, I am OK. Two or three times a week we go 2 hours of no power (in Davao), but if we get to 12 hours or more every single day, well, I have to do something. I do not believe there is any threat of Manila going black 24/7. Same for Cebu. In Mindanao it is reality, and is likely to happen if nothing is done in weeks.
Bob: Was more referring to the Internet rather than power… The base stations are having the problem. The power is blipping for 5-30 minutes or so, and it is frying the ISP’s equipment.
Understand your point… Can’t run a business like that. Is Cebu being impacted as bad? At least in Manila, you are located in the place that will get fixed first.
Hi John – No, Cebu is not being hard hit with brownouts. Actually, the Luzon Grid has a surplus of power at this time (although the surplus is shrinking). The Visayas grid has a small deficit, but not much (I think it is like 30 MW per day or less). Mindanao has a power deficit of more than 700 MW per day, sometimes as much as 900 MW per day. The total demand for Mindanao is around 1500 MW per day, so you can see that we have a 50 to 60% deficit of electricity compared to normal demand.
holy cow thats as deficit the size of the third largest power plant in the usa I worked at in illinois 1500mw is alot of power.Mischel and I have been getting alot of brown outs in cavite like 1 hour everyday but gosh i hope it never gets to 12 hours or more a day
You are right, Jason. The power deficit is already more than half the electricity needed for the Island, and they are saying it will be getting much worse than it is now. Big trouble!
And if anyone had ever told you, just a short time ago, that understanding MWs would be so important, I’m not sure you would have believed them. 🙂
This seems to be getting serious enough that you do have to consider a myriad of options both for now and the future.
Hi Tom – Exactly, the time is now to start making contingency plans, which is why my friend and I are already thinking of the apartment thing…
Hi Bob how about a private internet satalite coupled with a generator there are some companies in the usa selling this kind of thing and says it will work world wide and has broad band speed
Hi Jason – I’d love it! A couple years ago, I shopped for a satellite solution for Internet. It was $1500 per month (yes, Dollars). Want to chip in and help pay for it? Ha ha… it would be much cheaper to get a temporary apartment somewhere outside Mindanao.
Bob: if you have a reliable DC source (Like batteries on a generator), I can hook you up with a much cheaper solution on bandwidth via satellite (No surfing, but you can get emails). Hardware is pricey, though.
I appreciate that, John. Right now, I don’t think that is feasible, and probably won’t be in the future. It’s going to rain here sooner or later! If things get really bad, though, I might need to talk with you! 😉
thats funny Bob I only sugested it cause I was reading a private island article and it said like 200 bucks a month. 1500 is crazy to bad they cant make it affordable like satalite radio.
Hi Jason – Unfortunately, there is no satellite radio here that I am aware of. The reason that these kind of services are so expensive here is because of their limited use here.
Sorry I didnt clarify Bob I listen to my satalite radio thru my laptop not actualy thru the reciver but you still need a subscription.
Hi jason – Yeah, I have heard you can listen to Satellite Radio over the net if you have a subscription. Only problem is… you can’t buy an “over the net” satellite internet subscription! Ha ha… if there is no internet, you can’t get only your laptop to bring up the satellite! 😆
Good for you Bob. Great ideas for dealing with a unfortunate power problem which will no doubt be getting worse as the lakes dry up. I am visiting Davao for a few days and am staying in Toril and so far I have not experienced any brownouts. I hope this lasts until the end of April when we head over to Dumaguete for a few months. I wish you best of success.
Hi Richard – Indeed we are very lucky in Davao, including Toril, which is still under DLPC. Those diesel generators in Bajada keep the lights on for us much more than other parts of Mindanao. If you will be here until the end of April, though, things are expected to get much worse by then, unless something is done (bring in diesel barges, heavy rains, or something else) in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully it can be avoided, though.
Good luck Bob, sounds like you are exploring many options. Satellite Internet here goes for about $40 a month or so. I bought the system for one of my relatives who lives in an area where it is unlikely anything other than dial-up service is not available and probably won’t be for a long time. It works pretty decent too. I realize that service may not be available in Philippines. I think the one I am talking about is called Wildblue.
I hope the power situation clears up later in the year when I was planning another visit. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
Can you imagine what a dent these brounouts are having on what seem to be a ” zillion ” internet cafes there in Mindanao ?
Hi Bob – Yes, there are several sub-$100 satellite Internet solutions in the States… unfortunately, that is not the case here, though. DirecPC used to have service here, in fact, I was a dealer for them in GenSan. But, that is long history now, and the only real satellite service that I am aware of here is out of Singapore, and very expensive.
Hey Bob,
I work for a Data Center for a major hospital(Kaiser) here in SoCal. We seem to have the industry standard for a server farm, which is a huge string of batteries, and a bunch of big CAT generators to go at a moments(miliseconds) notice. It sounds like the internet providers there in Davao are not that serious about keeping themselves online for there customers.
Yeah welcome to the philippines where the services you pay for only work 1/2 the time if your lucky lol. I should ask them to prorate my bills for loss of service lol.
Ha ha…. Jason – unfortunately true so much of the time.
Hi hudson – The market has only a limited number of customers here, I would not expect them to invest in a state of the art system like that.
Unfortunately there are no refunds , at least here in Cagayan de Oro , as it is considered an act of God . Short term i can deal with it but if we are looking at the remainder of the year then like Bob i will have to look at living somewhere else .
Hi Alan – I have not heard local folks (like Cable company and such) use the term “Act of God” here in Davao, but I can confirm that they sure don’t give any refunds for lost service. Ha ha…
When I am talking about an apartment in Cebu or something of that nature, I am only talking about a temporary thing until this situation passes, which it surely will.
I’ve heard, though, that things are much worse in CdO than here in Davao. I hope you and your wife are doing OK, Alan.
Bob,
Though you’ve already described the reason behind the brown-outs, I also wonder if the pending election doesn’t come into the equation? I remember, as we approached an election, the brown-outs seemed to increase dramatically, then return to the typical cycle shortly thereafter. As I will need to send assignments & designs via the net when I am there, I’ll probably have to spring for a satellite system. How is the equipment selection in Davao/Cebu/Manila?
Mike
Hi Mike – Yeah, I wrote last week about my thoughts about the reasons behind the brownouts and how they play with the upcoming “automated” elections. I have doubts about the authenticity of the reason, but I will say that it is getting awfully dry here.
Nice positive ideas from you here Bob!
One last rant though! back to my hobby-horse ideas about tidal-power. I don’t just mean the enormous power of massive volumes of water flowing one way and back again …. there is also the potential of tapping into the energy exchanges involving buoyancy-gravity. A tide will lift a heck of a weight if it’s put in the right place(e.g.Oil Tanker*1000?), and gravity’s pretty sure to pull it back down again once the water’s gone. Then energy conversion and storage techniques, which could be quite conventional. All non-polluting and permanent as long as the earth-moon routine keeps up.
Hi jonaky – I believe that tidal power could do quite well here. However, in truth there is nothing that you or I could do to get it going. I have chosen to try to focus on things that I can do to make the brownouts more bearable, and improve my life with that extra time in my day.
same thinking here, bob. in fact, i put my strategy to use this morning when a brownout happened.
as you know, i work at home. but when the power goes off, i drive off to the “family owned biz” where i have an empty room with a desk, a/c & modem waiting for me. plus, a bed for the new born baby to cool off.
i also plan to hit the gym if the outage happens early am. why not, right? might as well make good use of that 1-2 hours instead of sitting around.
on another note, you are right about things getting dry here. except for the usual holy week hiking crowd, i just heard from a kidapawan friend that mt. apo will be closed because of fire safety issues. even our high humidy can’t keep the forests from drying up. i hope things improve soon. i even have plans for a late may trek.
That’s great, macky. I hope that the brownout hours add a bit of extra workout or anything else positive to your day. We might as well focus on the positive, right?
Sounds like an excellent example of converting lemons into lemonaide Bob. I admire your willingness to make the best of what could be a difficult situation.
Thank you, David, I appreciate your thoughts.
Hi Bob;
As you know I’ve had a generator for over 12 years here in Bataan. My TV is the Dream System and my internet connection is through my Globe Cell Phone. I have never lost the TV or internet during a brownout (while using the generator). Yesterday we had 4 brownouts, one in the morning for an hour and a half, and three last night varying from 20-30 minutes. If you have a 3G Cell Phone you could just go on line with it and use the batteries in your lap top and you would not need a generator at all. But forget all that and go swimming, and enjoy yourself.
Hi Paul – I do have a phone with 3G capability, but unfortunately, there are still problems with that. For some reason, during brownouts here, the 3G does not work well, or at all. Also… even if it did work, my house is in a 3G shadow. Sometimes I can get 3G service, sometimes I can’t.. and even when I do, it is very poor. Ah… the swimming is good for me! 😉
Hi Bob;
I see said the blind man. (lol) I understand, as I live partway up a mountain and can see the Globe tower on top of it from my house. But the swimming idea is still the best. The downside of generators is, today I’ve got to go to town and get 20 liters of gas for it. Part of the price we pay to live in paradise.
Yes indeed, Paul, I like the swimming idea. In fact, I went swimming yesterday.
It’s pretty bad here in Gensan. Our typical brownout is 3 hours. We are generally eperiencing 2 to 3 per day. We’ve had one or two days with rolling 3 hours on / 3 hours off over an entire 24 hour period. I’ve only had one instance that I’ve noticed my power was on, but internet connectivity was down. I cannot say with any accuracy what the ISP’s downtime has been.
There were no brownouts Sunday until late afternoon.
I would consider another location on a temporary basis, but as John M pointed out, he’s had internet connectivity problems in MNL. It may be unrelated reasons, but there are no service guarantees, which makes renting somewhere else somewhat of a gamble. But it may be necessary to take that risk.
How are the call centers coping? I’m sure they have redundant power, but what about internet? Do they have level of service contracts? I assume they’re using i-services, but perhaps not.
Hi Gary – I understand that the reason there were no brownouts early in the day on Sunday is because they wanted people to be able to see the Pacquiao fight.
Yes, John pointed out internet problems. But, from all of the articles I am reading online, and from talking to friends around different parts of the country, the Visayas and Luzon are not experiencing the type of brownouts that we are having here. Sure, they get a brownout from time to time, that’s normal here, but I mean systemic daily brownouts. Anyway it remains to be seen, and I am just laying plans for a worst case scenario.
Hi Gary – By the way, I failed to respond about the call centers. The big ones certainly have backup power, but the small ones don’t. Remember a couple of weeks ago I wrote about my new neighbors (“from hell”) who have a call center behind my house? Every time there is a brownout, I see all the call center agents sitting out on the verandah talking until power comes back. I saw an article in a Davao newspaper a couple weeks ago. It said that for every hour of brownout in Davao, call centers lose P1M. That is significant.
Very well put. It’s a challenge for sure but I guess in Filipino style, one finds a way around it.
Hi Alex – Yep, absolutely!
That Pacquiao must be the most powerful man in the Philippines, these days. Imagine, being able to stop a brown-out with your very presence. lol
Hi Mike – What I meant is that the National Grid Corp did not impose brownouts on Mindanao during the fight. They did some extra earlier in the day, and some later, but not during the fight! 😉
Hi Bob, I am currently in Dumaguete, but moving to Davao on 1st June. The power issues are a BIG concern for me too, as I am a full time web designer.
If I stick with the SMART BRO deal I have here, I will only lose my internet connection when that part of Davao where the mast is located loses power (if the ******* don’t have generator backup). So I could well be OK for internet in our house when the power goes down for up to 4 hours in the rotational pattern. SO all I need really is power for a fan or two, the DVD player and my laptop (limit is 2 hours on battery and performance is low in that mode). The fridge/freezer would be OK for such a short period and I could do without aircon for sure.
So I should get myself a 2000 watt peak inverter or higher and maybe two car batteries and a charger. You can power fans, TV, DVD player and even a refrigerator. I might spend P15,000 to P20,000 if I get the most expensive brand, but it is one hell of a lot cheaper than a generator. The hell with hooking into the mains. Just plug right into a distribution strip plugged into the inverter. The inverter changes 12 VDC to 220 VAC. The higher cold crank amps the batteries are the better.
What do you think of this ‘plan’?
Cheers
Adrian
Hi Adrian – As of now, power interruptions in Davao are still minor. Yesterday, it really looked like it was going to rain, which is what we need in order to straighten out the power situation all over Mindanao, but it didn’t rain! We will keep hoping.
Overall, your power plan is reasonable. Hopefully it won’t be needed. Internet is spotty if there are brownouts, that is the weakest link.
Hi Bob, do you think that the kind of DC to AC inverter I described can easily be found in Davao?
Thanks
Adrian
Hi Adrian – I think you probably would not be able to find the stuff in Davao.
Hi Bob, can you give me any feedback on ISPs there in Davao? As I said earlier, I am using SmartBro with their USB WAN modem. It works OK here in Dumaguete, am getting an average 400-600 kbp/s here in my house. I had hoped the signal in Davao might improve slightly, but of course it’s a huge city and signal strength may vary widely.
Anybody have any feedback on whether Smart have a generator, or any other comments (keep it clean!) on their service there?
Thanks
Adrian
Hi Adrian – On my SmartBro Canopy, I generally get 600 to 700 Kbps, sometimes as much as 1 Mbps. I have never used their dongle, though, so I can’t say how that works.
A word of caution folks. Since I signed up for a free Gravatar 2 days ago, the email address I used to sign up has been bombarded with spam. Clearly Mr. Gravatar sells email addresses, nothing in this life is really “free”!