EDITORIAL - Energy crisis

Restore power first, and then find out the cause of the blackout that hit the entire Mindanao the other day. President Aquino reportedly issued this instruction as many parts of Mindanao continued to suffer from the power outage yesterday. With other power plants tripping, however, there was no assurance that electricity could be fully restored soon.

What is more certain is that the Mindanao-wide blackout can happen again, and with increasing frequency if authorities do not move to address the power problem. Throughout much of 2013, businesses in Mindanao suffered from regular blackouts lasting at least an hour. Experts have warned that Mindanao faces a power crisis for the next few years.

The blackout is on top of the snail-paced restoration of power service in areas devastated last year by Super Typhoon Yolanda and a powerful earthquake. This has been one of the biggest reasons for slow recovery in the disaster areas. The blackout the other day occurred shortly after President Aquino scolded his officials for the slow restoration of power service in the disaster zones.

Whether the scolding will lead to improvements is uncertain. A report earlier this month said that without electricity, economic activities could not pick up in Tacloban, the city hardest hit by Yolanda. With no job openings, workers are leaving the disaster zones and students have transferred to their schools’ branches in other cities.

The blackout the other day should remind officials that energy insecurity is a problem not only in Mindanao but also in Metro Manila and the rest of the country. The problem has been one of the greatest hindrances to attracting investments that generate meaningful jobs, particularly in manufacturing. The country not only faces an electricity shortage, it also has Asia’s highest power costs. Power being one of the biggest components of production, it’s not surprising that the country is a regional laggard in attracting foreign direct investment.

It will take a few years at best before new power plants can come on stream – if any is in the pipeline at all. With many projects failing to go beyond the planning stage in the past three years, President Aquino faces the prospect of crippling blackouts in the second half of his term. He will need to take decisive action if he doesn’t want to be remembered for power failure.