'Energy crisis real, not a political scenario'

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the power crisis is real and not part of a scenario-building ploy of the administration to disrupt the May elections.

“There’s nothing political about the power shortage situation – it’s a real problem,” Reyes told journalists after meeting with local leaders on Wednesday to discuss ways to address the crisis.

He said critics of the Arroyo administration should help find ways to end the crisis and not politicize the issue.

“We have to separate politics here because this problem is a very serious one,” Reyes said.

He said the administration would make sure there would be uninterrupted power supply in the first automated polls in May.

He said the consensus among Mindanao leaders is the immediate acquisition of power barges as a short-term measure. The country relied on power barges during the power crisis in the 1990s.

Ready for polls

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) vice president for systems operation Carlito Claudio said they expect a four-megawatt (MW) deficit in Mindanao on election day, but contingency measures are in place to avert power outages.

 “These are just estimates. If ever there would be forecast error - or maybe this forecast will not happen - the National Power Corp. (Napocor) is ready to implement contingency measures,” Claudio said.

Claudio said Napocor is planning to run the 30-MW Iligan diesel-fired power plant on election day to ensure stable power supply in Mindanao.

There are fears that the receding water levels at the Agus hydropower plant complex will worsen Mindanao’s power supply problem.

“The country’s weather station Pagasa has said the country will experience a long dry spell during the summer. This will affect the generating capacities of hydropower plants in Mindanao,” Conal Holdings Corp. vice president for business development Joseph Nocos said.

Conal is putting up a clean-coal power plant in Sarangani province in Mindanao.

Based on the latest NGCP power update, the Visayas and Mindanao power grids will continue to have reserve deficits due to the limited supply coming from power generating plants.

Mindanao as of Feb. 18 has a deficit of 218 MW with available capacity at 962 MW as against peak demand of 1,180 MW.

Davao City, according to reports, is experiencing a power supply gap of between 20 to 30 MW.

The Pulangi hydropower plant in Bukidnon, NGCP officials said, is running at less than half of capacity due to low water levels.

“Even if the water levels at the Agus complex and the Pulangi hydro plant are brought back to normal, we will still experience power outages in Mindanao, especially in the south,” Nocos said.

Nocos said their proposed power plant would greatly help alleviate the power problem in Mindanao.

“This power station will give consumers and industrial users in the region steady, reliable and cheap supply of electricity,” Nocos said of the $450-million project.

Worried candidates

Some candidates in the May elections have urged the government to do its best to avert a power crisis not only to ensure clean and credible elections but to prevent an economic tailspin as well.

“This is really a cause for concern, these blackouts especially in Mindanao. It is important to address this not only because of the elections but due to effects on trade, tourism and everyday life,” Liberal Party vice presidential candidate Sen. Manuel Roxas II said.

“This is a sign that we must now have a wide and permanent solution to the problem,” Roxas said.

He said the government must look beyond temporary solutions that are too costly, like depending on oil for running power plants.

LP senatorial candidate Neric Acosta, former Bukidnon representative, said the problems brought about by El Niño could make people vulnerable to “vote buying.”

He said farmers and other residents affected would likely turn to politicians for help and vote for those who could give them temporary relief.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who is running for re-election under the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, said the government must deploy electric power barges in the meantime to ensure adequate supply of power.

He said the drought could lead to higher power rates because water sources for hydroelectric power plants were drying up.

“But that (increase in power rates) should not be permanent. Once the rains come, hydroelectric plants will again be fully operational,” Enrile said.

Emergency powers

An opposition lawmaker has proposed that President Arroyo be given emergency powers to address the power crisis in Mindanao.

House Deputy Minority Leader Rufus Rodriguez raised the suggestion during a hearing of the House energy committee headed by Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, the President’s son.

“We’re going to ask Malacañang to declare a state of emergency and call for a special session. We are all suffering in Mindanao. Twelve million votes will not be counted because of this problem,” the Cagayan de Oro congressman said.

“I’m proud of you (Rodriguez) because you are from the opposition and you want a state of emergency,” a surprised Ilocos Norte Rep. Roquito Ablan told Rodriguez.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, also from the opposition bloc, asked for a rundown of Mindanao areas that would be experiencing blackouts on election day.

“One province, say Maguindanao, can decide the outcome of these elections. So I’m asking, which provinces in Mindanao will be experiencing power outages?” the opposition spokesman asked, but got no reply from the representatives of both Napocor and NGCP. - Marvin Sy, Donnabelle Gatdula, Delon Porcalla, Aurea Calica