Noy stands firm on power cost

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino yesterday expressed openness to have more meetings with power stakeholders in Mindanao, even as he stood firm in his position that people have to pay more for electricity to avoid a full-blown crisis.

“I think the rationality of the national government’s plan is very obvious. We only need to have an open mind,” he told reporters in a hastily called briefing at Malacañang.

Aquino’s statement came in the wake of reports that consumers, business and political leaders in Mindanao were disappointed with his response to the power crisis on the island.

Two Catholic bishops in Mindanao were also displeased with Aquino’s statement that the region would have to shoulder higher costs as part of the solution to the island’s electricity supply problem.

Mindanao is exempted from the effects of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), and the time of low power rates in the region is over, borne out of the decades-old facilities that will have to be replaced soon.

“That was historical data (lifespan of hydropower etc). They are exempted from the EPIRA, and this is the current situation. How will the situation change if we won’t change the system that has been implemented for the longest time?” he said.

“I think this is being carefully studied, and we will hold more dialogues if needed,” he added.

The President acknowledged that the one-and-a-half-hours that he spent at the Energy Summit at the Waterfront Hotel in Davao City last week were indeed “not sufficient” to lay down and discuss all the nitty-gritty details of addressing the power crisis.

He also repeated his stand on privatizing the Agus-Pulangi power plants – now under the state-run National Power Corp. – to make them more competitive in the business, since his appointee will only be concerned in keeping rates low even if it is a losing proposition.

Not satisfied

But in Mindanao, business as well as political leaders continued to express dissatisfaction with the solution offered by Aquino to ensure stable power supply on the island.

“We are not satisfied with what the President has offered. I think the President is not really getting the exact information on the situation in Mindanao,” said Vic Lao, president of the Mindanao Business Council.

Lao said the President was also insistent on selling the Agus-Pulangi power plants that will make power more expensive in Mindanao, which is largely dependent on hydroelectric power.

The Pulangi River in Bukidnon and Lake Lanao in Marawi City are the main sources of hydropower in the south.

Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, president of the confederation of local chief executives in Mindanao, also stressed that the Agus-Pulangi hydropower complex has been earning tremendously for the past nine years.

Del Rosario said that according to the nine-year historical record of the National Power Corp., it has an average annual gross revenue generation of P12.3 billion which could have been used to rehabilitate the Agus-Pulangi complex so its plants could operate at full capacity.

House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Ma. Isabel Climaco-Salazar said given the proper setup, the hydropower complex can be repaired, maintained and improved by the government.

Former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said the government should not put the burden on the people by making them pay more for stable electric service and instead urged the government to rehabilitate the Agus-Pulangi power plants since it is financially capable of doing so.

Shutdown starts today

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) announced yesterday that the Mindanao grid will be on red alert status from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. today due to the generation deficiency brought about by the scheduled shutdown of Agus-Pulangi 4 power plant for the long-delayed rehabilitation of the facility.

The shutdown should have taken place last April 9 but the National Power Corp. (Napocor) moved it to April 17 in deference to the holding of the Mindanao Power Summit in Davao City.

The shutdown would mean longer blackouts in most parts of Mindanao that are already experiencing up to eight hours of power outage for the past two months.

Last Sunday, Agusan del Norte, Butuan City and the rest of the Caraga region experienced up to 13 hours of power outage, reportedly in anticipation of the shutdown of the Agus-Pulangi power plants.

Up to next admin

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Rene Almendras said yesterday the government is eyeing the possibility of tapping nuclear energy to address the looming power supply shortage but the decision to use nuclear energy source will be left to the next administration.

“The use of nuclear energy is an option of the next administration,” he told The STAR after the Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel news forum in Manila.

He said the task of laying the groundwork for the possible use of nuclear energy is being undertaken by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Atomic Energy Office.

Almendras said putting up a nuclear plant will take at least 10 years and there are many requirements that would have to be accomplished first. – With Edith Regalado, Perseus Echeminada, Ben Serrano, Roel Pareño