DOE probes power situation in Occidental Mindoro

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is being urged to probe the power situation in Occidental Mindoro which is feared to experience power interruptions during the Christmas holiday.

Mindoreño Ayaw sa Dilim (MAD) said Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (OMECO) cancelled its 20-megawatt (MW) contract with its sole power supplier Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corp. (OMCPC).

The contract was scrapped on the basis of a default by Emerging Power Inc.’s (EPI) non-delivery of its geothermal energy.

But in a letter to OMECO, OMCPC said it has duly complied with its obligations under the PSA and has in fact operated its power plant with higher than 99 percent reliability since it started supplying power to OMECO on April 17, 2017. 

“For two and a half years already. OMECO and consumers received and enjoyed stable and reliable supply from the OMCPC power plant,” San Jose councilor and MAD spokesperson Joel Aguilar said.

The PSA was forged between OMECO and EPI in 2014. EPI then assigned its rights under the PSA to two project companies: Mindoro Geothermal Power Corp. (MGPC) and Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corp. (OMCPC). Since then OMCPC no longer had any involvement with a geothermal company nor has any affiliation with EPI.

“The cancellation of the OMCPC contract and the expected conclusion of subsidy under missionary electrification comes on Dec. 20, 2019 will bring massive blackout again in the entire province,” San Jose councilor and MAD member Mercy Alavaran said.

The group is also questioning OMECO’s solution of conducting a competitive selection process (CSP) for the new supplier of 39 MW starting November 2020, but disqualified OMCPC in the process.

The CSP provisions dictate that the supplier should only use “brand new engines” and the modification of the definition of  “power generator” to “power supplier.”

The group said the requirement is discriminatory in nature. It is also doubtful that a new power plant can be built and commissioned in 11 months time because of the permits and other necessary regulatory requirements needed before building a power plant.

San Jose mayor and MAD main convenor Romulo Festin said the DOE and National Electrification Administration (NEA) should help to address this concern immediately.

“The best option is to separate the existing 20MW from the CSP of additional 19MW capacity to mitigate the risk of power outage and allow OMCPC to participate. The emphasis here is on public interest,” he said.

The citizen’s movement MAD was organized to fight blackouts in Occidental Mindoro that its capital town- San Jose was once dubbed as the “Blackout Capital of the Philippines” due to power outages that last between six to 12 hours a day.

Citizen’s movement MAD is conducting a petition campaign in the entire province with a plan to file a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the ongoing CSP of OMECO.

The entire province has endured power outages over a decade due to inadequate, intermittent and unreliable supply coming from modular, high-speed genset rentals, coupled with its endless disconnection from the transmission and distribution system.

The province of Occidental Mindoro is part of the Small Power Utility Group (SPUG) that enjoys a subsidy under missionary electrification prescribes by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).