How Do I Get To Know Jesus?

They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”  John 12:21

Author Philip Yancey grew up in church.  But he experienced a lot of confusion over what he learned about God and what he experienced in life.  He wrote a book that shatters a lot of our cherished ideals and the images we have grown up with. He called the book, The Jesus I Never Knew.

Of his book, Yancey said, “The Jesus I got to know in writing this book is very different from the Jesus I learned about in Sunday school.  In some ways, He is more comforting; in some ways, more terrifying.”  Of one thing Yancey is certain.  The individual who really meets Jesus Christ will never be the same.

In the event that the name Philip Yancey is new to you, let me say that reading what he writes is like a breath of fresh air which comes to you in a polluted environment.  Reading Yancey is like sitting down in an overstuffed chair with a friend in front of a fireplace, and listening to someone who trusts you so much that he can be completely vulnerable with you.

Yancey doesn’t come up with pre-programmed answers or quick-fix solutions.  He has an openness, a candor, and an honesty which prompts you to look within your own heart and soul.   How did Yancey rediscover Jesus?

His book was a partial outgrowth of a study he did with a small group focusing on the life of Jesus Christ.  The group also used video clips of almost every film on the life of Christ which has ever been produced, but the Jesus we never knew, according to Yancey, is the one which Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote about, and by saturating himself in what they said, he was able to strip away the old varnish of images that many of us have grown up with.

Phil Yancey is a gifted individual who has given us something of great importance, yet the Jesus that he never knew is the same one whom believers have worshiped for centuries.  I do know one thing: no matter what your relationship with Jesus Christ, or how well you know Him, after carefully reading what Yancey says, you will know Him better and love Him more dearly.

Knowing Jesus as He really is, becomes complex and difficult because of the lives we live—not just the misconceptions and the wrong images we have grown up with.  We get so busy that we have little time to take the four Gospels and to digest them.  We “sample” portions of Scripture, usually in short sound bites which are easy to digest and tell us what we want—that He loves us, forgives us, and helps us to succeed.

Some years ago, I discovered an old hymn by Ian MacPherson which says it so well.  The words go, “If I but knew Thee as Thou art/ O Loveliness unknown/ With what desire, O Lord, my heart would claim Thee for its own.”  Another stanza goes, “With faith’s warm finger, through the veil/ I seek to touch Thy hand/ I feel the imprint of the nail/ And partly understand.”   Then MacPherson voices the frustration which we sometimes feel as he said, “But, ah, my lonely spirit tires/ Of knowing Thee in part / O Jesus, how my soul desires/ To see Thee as Thou art!”

Does your restless heart want to break through the spiritual gloom and the pain of living in a broken world to see Jesus as He really is?  Yes, I recommend Yancey’s book.  It will help you.  But do what Phil Yancey has done.  Saturate yourself in the Gospels.  Read them in different versions.  Ask the Lord to lift the blindness of prejudice and business and help you to see Him as He really is.  When you meet Him, you will never be the same.

Resource reading: Matthew 8:1-16.

https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-do-i-get-to-know-jesus/

Rotating brownouts hit parts of Luzon as red alert extended

 By Kris Crismundo

The Department of Energy (DOE) said the longer period for raising the red alert status over the Luzon grid is due to additional power plant outages.

 

The Luzon grid on Tuesday is under red alert from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and yellow alert status from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., and 11 p.m. to midnight, DOE said.

 

The agency said the 316-megawatt GMEC Coal-Fired Power Plant Unit 2 went offline at 3:56 a.m. Tuesday due to a suspected boiler tube leak.

 

“The plant is expected to be back online by 8 June 2021,” it said.

 

This is on top of the reported power plants that were on outage Monday including the GNPower Dinginin Coal-Fired Power Plant Unit 1, San Roque Hydroelectric Power Plant, and Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant Unit 2.

 

From 1,285 MW forced outages on Monday, this has increased to 1,579 MW Tuesday.

 

The available power capacity on Tuesday also declined to 11,408 MW from the previous day’s reserve of 11,729 MW, while peak demand is slightly higher from Monday’s 11,514 MW to this day’s 11,593 MW power requirement.

 

“In order to maintain a balanced system, NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) may implement manual load dropping (MLD) in parts of Luzon today to maintain the integrity of the power system,” DOE added.

 

In a separate advisory, NGCP listed scheduled MLD or rotating brownouts in parts of Isabela, parts of Nueva Ecija, parts of Pangasinan, parts of Bataan, parts of Batangas, parts of Camarines Sur, parts of Metro Manila, and the province of Ifugao.

 

Red alert is raised if the power reserves breached the maintaining level of 4 percent of the peak demand, thus rotational brownouts are experienced. 

 

The DOE earlier forecasted that the peak demand for this year would reach 11,841 MW.

 

On the other hand, a yellow alert is raised when there is a thinning of power reserve in the system with demand approaching critical levels. There is still sufficient supply of power and would not cause any power interruption.

 

Power supply for vax storage

 

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya told reporters that the agency has reminded local government units (LGUs) to secure an uninterruptible power supply in cold storage facilities of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines.

 

“At this time of pandemic, vaccines are more valuable than gold and therefore contingency plans should be implanted soonest to mitigate the rotational brownouts being implemented by the NGCP,” Malaya said. (With reports from Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1142199

Luzon grid on red alert starting 10 a.m. June 1 due to low power supply: NGCP

 The Luzon grid is placed under red alert on Tuesday with potential power outages due to low power supply, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said. 

The red alert status is in place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the NGCP said in an advisory.

The grid will remain on red alert from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, it added.

Yellow alert was earlier raised from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. It will also be in place from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 12 a.m., it said.

The available capacity on June 1 is at 11,480 MW while the peak demand could reach 11,593 MW.

Manual load dropping could be implemented to balance out supply, the NGCP said. Rotational power outages have also been implemented on Monday.

Manual load dropping may be implemented in the following areas:

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

• BENECO (parts of Baguio City and Benguet)
• NEECO II-Area 1 (parts of Nueva Ecija)
• SAJELCO (San Jose City, Nueva Ecija) 
• PAMES (Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija) 
• QUEZELCO I (parts of Quezon)
• SORECO I (parts of Sorsogon)
• MERALCO (parts of Metro Manila)

"Schedule may be cancelled if system condition improves, such as if actual demand falls below projections," the NGCP said. 

"NGCP encourages everyone to exercise prudence in using electricity," it added.

The high heat index, unscheduled maintenance works, and low-yield in supply were among the factors that contributed to the supply issues, the Department of Energy earlier said.

The DOE on Tuesday said "enforcement issues" on power players also contributed to the lack of power supply in Luzon.

The NGCP was unable to comply with its ancillary services, which is included in its obligations under its franchise, an Energy official said Tuesday.

Authorities have earlier warned of persistent power interruptions in the next few days due to low power supply. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/01/21/luzon-grid-red-alert-june-1

NGCP: Expect more power interruptions due to lack of supply

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines on Tuesday warned of more power interruptions in Luzon due to a lack of supply amid persistent hot weather.

The NGCP will raise grid status alerts from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., said its head for external affairs Cynthia Alabanza.

"Ang problema ngayon ay wala hong sapat na kuryente na nakakabit sa national grid para ho ito ihatid. Kaya wala ho tayong choice kundi magpatupad ng red alert at magkakaroon ng posibilidad ng power interruption sa kalat kalat na bahagi ng Luzon," she told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(The problem right now is there's not enough power in the national grid so we have no choice but to raise a red alert, which in turn leads to the possibility of power interruption in various parts of Luzon.)

"Ang mga puwedeng ipagpalibang activities, ipagpaliban natin."

(We urged consumers to as much as they can put off their activities.)

The NGCP is coordinating with power distributors and cooperatives so they can make adjustments, Alabanza said.

"Para makapagdiskarte sila sa kanilang prangkisa at kung mayroon lugar na kailangan panatilihing may kuryente katulad ng city centers kung nasaan ang mga ospital yan ay magagawan nila ng paraan," she added.

(So they can make adjustments and keep power on at city centers where hospitals are located.)

The Department of Energy on Monday said that besides the high heat index that pushed demand for power, maintenance work and unscheduled outages at key power plants in Luzon and low gas pressure from the Malampaya also contributed to power supply problems.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/01/21/ngcp-expect-more-power-interruptions-due-to-lack-of-supply

Metro Manila subway, North-South railway set to be linked physically

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) plans to physically link two of its largest railway projects, the Metro Manila subway and the North South Commuter Railway (NSCR), allowing seamless travel for commuters.

DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said both lines, to be fully completed past the term of President Duterte, would be “interoperable” once operations begin.

“That means when you ride the subway train at North Avenue station, you can remain in the same train and get of at Calamba, [Laguna],” Batan said during a forum organized by the Management Association of the Philippines.

The P357-billion Metro Manila subway, mainly funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), is a 36-kilometer project from Valenzuela City to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

The 148-km NSCR, on the other hand, is backed by loans also from Jica as well as the Asian Development Bank. It is comprised of three major railway projects in Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila and Calamba.

During the forum, Batan said the NSCR would be progressively completed from 2023 and with the final Calamba segment to be finished by 2025.

He said the subway would be fully completed by 2027. However, Transpo Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran later clarified the 2025 target remained.She said the 2027 deadline referred to a two-year defects liability period—or “when the contract of our contractors will, technically speaking, end.”

Railway investments account for a major slice of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.

Counting sources such as official development assistance loans, private sector and government spending, the entire railway budget stood at P1.7 trillion of the total P7.74-trillion infrastructure budget.

By 2022, the DOTr is targeting to increase the country’s railway footprint to 1,209 km from 77 km in 2016.

Despite the increase, Batan said this was just the initial pipeline of projects because Manila was still trailing cities such as Jakarta, Seoul and Tokyo in terms of railway density.

“Given the catch up that we need to do, we actually need four to five more similarly-sized pipelines,” he said without elaborating on future projects. INQ

https://business.inquirer.net/323937/metro-manila-subway-north-south-railway-set-to-be-linked-physically

DOTr to award more rail contracts

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to award until 2022 a number of contracts for major railway projects in the country.

In the virtual forum on transportation hosted by the Management Association of the Philippines, Timothy John Batan, DOTr undersecretary for railways, said as of end- 2020, DOTr has awarded 35 contracts on rail projects with an average contract cost of P16.8 billion per project.

DOTr is set to award 34 more contracts until 2022.

“We have a long way to go. We have 34 more contracts to award up to 2022 which will increase our average contract size to P22 billion. All of this is part of the P1.7 trillion budget for the rail sector,” Batan said.

Of the total projects under procurement, 17 are ongoing and 17 are set to be procured.

Projects that are currently in the procurement stage are for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 1 extension to Cavite, LRT-2 West Extension, Mindanao Railway, three contracts for the Metro Manila Subway project and 12 contracts for the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark phase 2 project.

Batan said nine more contracts will be awarded for the PNR Clark phase 2 within the year.

The DOTr also intends to award the civil works for the PNR Bicol segment within the year, said Batan.

In a related development, DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade wants drivers and conductors of public utility vehicles (PUV) as well as the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) displaced by the pandemic to be hired and work in DOTr projects such as the PNR Clark phase 1 project.

Tugade said some 200 former OFWs are now working in the project as he encouraged more displaced OFWs to join.

He also called on other displaced workers in the transport sector, including PUV drivers who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, to work in DOTr projects.

At least 7,500 workers are employed during the construction of the project, while 2,000 additional jobs will be made available once the project becomes operational, Tugade said.

The PNR Clark Phase 1, the railway system that will connect Tutuban in Manila and Malolos in Bulacan, is now at 45.82 percent overall progress rate.

Upon completion, the 38-kilometer rail line can carry 300,000 passengers daily and shorten travel time from Malolos to Tutuban to just 35 minutes, as compared to the previous 1 hour and 30 minutes.

PNR Clark Phase 1 forms part of the big-ticket 148-km. North-South Commuter Railway project under the massive “Build, Build, Build” program of the Duterte administration.

https://malaya.com.ph/index.php/news_business/dotr-to-award-more-rail-contracts/

Luzon grid on red alert; rotational blackouts loom

Rotational blackouts may persist in the Luzon grid this week as large power plants have extended their unplanned outage and warmer temperature cripples supply in the power grid.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) raised the red alert warning on the Luzon power grid from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. yesterday. Yellow alert notice, on the other hand, was up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

In another advisory later in the day, the NGCP said the red alert was bumped up from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

A yellow alert means there were not enough reserves to cover the largest running generating unit at the time but does not necessarily lead to power outages. A red alert means there is severe power deficiency which could lead to rotational power interruptions.

NGCP said available capacity was at 11,729 megawatts while peak demand was projected to reach 11,514 MW.

In a text message yesterday, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said supply was severely affected by several power plants on outage.

“The DOE is verifying the causes of today’s issuance of yellow and red alerts by NGCP. Although the demand is well within the forecasted levels, there is an observed sudden drop in the available generation capacity. If the red alert is not lifted, there is a possibility of rotational outages,” he said.

Based on data from the DOE, the forecast peak demand for this year is 11,840 MW.

“We haven’t really hit our demand forecast yet. The highest for the year, which was achieved last Friday, was at 11,640 MW,” Energy Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola said in a briefing.

However, developments over the weekend triggered the yellow and red alerts in the power grid, DOE officials said.

“Over the weekend, we registered higher index. For every degree index increase in temperature, there is an equivalent 100 MW increase in demand,” DOE-Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (EPIMB) director Mario Marasigan said.

Over the weekend, several areas in the Philippines registered heat indices of 41 degrees Celsius and higher, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

The heat index is the apparent temperature or what people feel as the temperature affecting their body, according to the weather bureau.

“We’re recording the heat index. That’s what drives our consumers to use cooling equipment,” Delola said.

Aside from the intensifying heat, several power plants proceeded with their scheduled maintenance, some remained on extend forced outage while other plants are running on derated capacity, with the Luzon grid losing 3,771 MW Monday.

Data from the DOE showed 435 MW were from hydropower plants which went on planned outage on May 30.

Marasigan said the 647-MW Sual unit 2, the 345-MW GNPower Mariveles and the 300-MW Sem Calaca unit 2 are on extended, unplanned outage while the Ilijan gas-fired power plant is generating only 716 MW from its total nameplate capacity of 1,200 MW due to limited gas supply from the Malampaya project, which is experiencing output restriction.

The DOE was banking on the first unit of GNPower Dinginin (GNPD) coal plant to bump up reserves, but the generating company cancelled its commissioning activities due to suspected boiler tube leak that needs to be addressed, Delola said.

“GNPD is still under testing and commissioning. It’s not yet stable but we are really banking on this,” he said. “There’s a possibility this yellow and red alert will last for a couple of days.”

With severely low reserves, NGCP implemented manual load dropping (MLD) to maintain a balanced system in parts of Isabela, the entire province of Quirino, Olongapo City, parts of Quezon province, parts of Camarines Sur, parts of Ilocos Norte, parts of La Union, Zambales, Albay and Metro Manila between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Supply deficiency

Meanwhile, the Manila Electric Co. experienced supply deficiency of 163 MW and 95 MW from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., respectively, leading to MLD within its franchise area, Meralco vice president for corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said in a text message.

To address the high system demand in the Luzon grid and the increased ambient temperature because of the summer season, Meralco called out its interruptible load program (ILP) participants to voluntarily deload from the grid during the red alert.

It said 86 participating establishments have confirmed willingness to deload under ILP, equivalent to a capacity of 168 MW.

In case of supply deficiency, corporations and commercial establishments participating under the ILP are ready to use their generator sets to help prevent/minimize incidents of power outage, Meralco said.

As the country undertakes vaccination programs, the DOE reminded vaccine facilities and distribution utilities (DUs) to ensure triple backup to protect COVID vaccines.

“They should have their gensets all ready. We also call on our partner facilities to have that triple backup system. As of now, we have red alerts, DUs and those facilities should have backup gensets and should inform DOE... so that we can accordingly respond,” DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said.

The DOE said it continues to monitor the power situation and will submit additional information for consumers and enforcement agencies, including the Energy Regulatory Commission, Philippine Competition Commission and Department of Justice, considering its long-term strategy of addressing the power supply and demand situation during the summer.

It also reminded distribution utilities and system operators of contracting obligations to address the needed capacity increases for a reliable power system for consumers.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/06/01/2102192/luzon-grid-red-alert-rotational-blackouts-loom