MANILA, Philippines?As Filipinos nationwide prepare to watch the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey match on Sunday, the energy sector is scrambling to ensure that there will be enough power to keep television sets, computers and cinema screens running up to the very last round.

As of Friday, power supply in all three main grids of the country remained unstable.

According to data from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the Mindanao Grid continued to be the worst of the lot, with available capacity placed at only 807 megawatts Friday, against peak demand of 1,457 MW. This translated to a deficit of 650 MW.

Mindanao, where Pacquiao?s hometown General Santos City is, is already experiencing rotating brownouts lasting 8 to 10 hours daily.

The Visayas Grid, another region that has suffered power supply woes for years, also remains in deficit. Friday?s available capacity was pegged at only 1,136 MW, while peak demand was placed at 1,457 MW, a shortfall of 45 MW.

The recently commissioned 246-MW Cebu Energy Development Corp.?s clean coal-fired power plant, after breaking down last week, was now back in operation and contributing 73 MW to the grid.

Malampaya shutdown

Luzon power users also faced rotating brownouts, following the failure of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project to resume operations as scheduled at midnight on Thursday.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said Malampaya had to shut down again because of technical problems.

?This affects all our gas-fired power plants, which account for more than 2,000 MW of supply. But (the Malampaya consortium) said it was working on the problem now, and should have it fixed soon,? he said, adding that the expectation is that Malampaya would go online over the weekend in time for the Pacquiao-Clottey bout.

?But until the problem is fixed, we?ll experience rotating brownouts,? Reyes said.

The Malampaya project supplies fuel to three gas-fired power plants in Batangas.

Metro Manila endured another round of rolling brownouts Friday.

It was the third week this year that the capital?s 12 million residents faced power outages.

?We have a supply deficiency. That?s why we resorted to (power cuts) for an hour, to be able to balance the system and ensure there will be power for the other areas,? Manila Electric Co. spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said.

The outages, typically lasting an hour, began in several northern Manila districts in mid-morning, then rolled over to other areas of the capital.

They also affected four nearby provinces that are home to nearly eight million other people, Meralco said.

The NGCP said the capacity for Luzon, which was short by 440 megawatts of the expected demand for the day.

Two plants south of Manila ?were put on emergency shutdown,? causing a loss of 360 MW of capacity, while a ?technical problem? shut down another 250 MW plant in the area before dawn Friday, the NGCP said.

Metro Manila first suffered power cuts in late January, and again in the first week of March.

The country?s hydroelectric plants have been producing less electricity as dams dry up due to El Niño, a cyclical drought induced by warming currents of the Pacific Ocean. With a report from AFP