MANILA, Philippines - Intermittent power shortages continued in various parts of the country on Friday a day after President Gloria Arroyo announced that she is considering emergency powers to solve the supply situation. 

Both Manila, the capital, and the largely rural southern region of Mindanao were blacked out because of breakdowns at ageing power plants. Blackouts in Mindanao were largely due to low capacity in hydroelectric dams caused by a dry spell, power officials said.

The country's biggest power retailer, Manila Electric Co., said its franchise areas, which include the capital, would have their power cut for 90 minutes at a time throughout the day.

Friday marks the fourth day running that the capital has been hit, with officials also blaming scheduled plant repairs for the shortage.

Jesusito Sulit, spokesman for the National Grid Corp., said engineers believed the problem in the capital would soon be fixed.

"We should have a total of 1,700 megawatts back on line by the end of the next week" provided all power plants are repaired on schedule, he said.

Mindanao

However, in Mindanao, home to around 21 million people, the shortage showed no sign of letting up, with some areas facing blackouts lasting up to 12 hours a day -- a problem that began a month ago.

The island relies heavily on hydroelectric dams but a prolonged dry spell has left many dams unable to provide electricity.

Arroyo on Thursday declared a power crisis in Mindanao and considered crisis powers to allow her to speedily bring new generators in to the area.

An emergency power for the president, however, would need the vote of lawmakers. The House Speaker had said it may be difficult to convene enough lawmakers for the vote since most are campaigning for the May 2010 elections. 

Meantime, Sulit warned that it would be at least 30 days before the situation improves in Mindanao.

"We can't expect anything significant until then," he said.