MANILA, Philippines — The Manny Pacquaio fight versus the Joseph Estrada verdict: Which had more people watching?
More Filipinos watch the televised fights of boxing star Manny Pacquiao than those who saw the broadcast promulgation of the verdict on the plunder case of former president Estrada on Wednesday, who had been voted to office by 11 million people.
According to data from the Philippine Electricity Market Corp., the operator of the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM), power demand spiked by 111 megawatts when the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan handed down its decision on the plunder and other charges against Estrada.
Much higher were the power demand spikes on days when Pacquiao fights were televised, said PEMC executive vice president Mario Pangilinan.
?During the last Pacquiao match, we saw a rise of around 400 megawatts in power demand,? Pangilinan said in a news briefing Friday. ?We?re anticipating that Pacquiao?s match in October will result in the same demand rise.?
The demand surge is rather high, especially as big boxing matches like Pacquiao?s usually take place on Sunday mornings, he said.
Sunday is an off-peak period in the power sector because of slow activity among industrial power users.
Based on historical data, power demand is traditionally higher during the summer months — from March to June — when the weather is warmer and more people turn on air-conditioners.
Demand is lower on weekends and holidays and when most industries halt operations, usually very early in the morning and late at night.
The present supply should be able to meet demand, Pangilinan said, even if power consumption will likely spike again by around 400 megawatts next month when Pacquiao faces Marco Antonio Barrera in a much anticipated fight.
?We have enough reserves,? he said. With INQUIRER.net
