NGO slams DOE for impending power crisis

A non-government organization slammed yesterday the Department of Energy (DOE) for its alleged failure to avert an impending electricity shortage brought about by increasing demand and the lack of new investments in the power industry.

"Because of such inefficiency, we are now faced with these twin problems which could wreak havoc on the national economy and threatens our very survival as a nation," the Foundation for National Development (FND) said.

FND chairman Antonio Hombrebueno said "there is nothing new" in the announcement of Energy Secretary Vincent Perez that a power crisis is in the offing. "We have been saying all along that unless the government moves fast, we will experience anew potentially-crippling power outages similar to those that we had in the early ’90s."

Industry analysts have pointed out that private sector response to government calls for new investments have been very lukewarm because of frequent shifts in state policies governing foreign investments, as well as Supreme Court decisions perceived to be discouraging for potential investors.

Hombrebueno asserted that the 4.5-percent growth of the domestic economy attributed to the increase in electric consumption during the first quarter would eventually be overshadowed by economic setbacks resulting from the predicted power shortage.

"This euphoria over the good news that the economy has improved will soon turn to despair as we are plunged again in protracted outages," the FND leader said.

He added that President Arroyo should show resolve and strong political will in guaranteeing security of private investments.

"Despite the principle of separation of powers, the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government should get their act together for concerted efforts to bring in more investments," Hombrebueno said.

He was referring to a recent Supreme Court decision that disallowed the time-honored practice by utility firms of treating income tax payments as part of the operational expenditure.

He said the ruling sent a wrong signal to the international business community, and investors are now extremely cautious about doing business in the Philippines because of frequent and unexpected changes in the economic policies.