Businessmen urged to support state of emergency in energy sector

MANILA, Philippines - Businessmen are being urged to back a proposal to declare a state of emergency in the power sector.

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) is rallying other business groups to support the proposal.

Ernesto Pangtangco, MAP energy committee head and senior vice president of First Gen Corp. – the  power generation company of the Lopez Group – is urging other business groups to support the proposal of Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla.

“A limited implementation of Section 71 will further enhance or ensure that there will be enough power during summer of 2015 therefore we encourage the other groups to reconsider their position on section 71,” he said.

Petilla proposed the declaration of a state of emergency in the power sector to allow the government to tap additional capacity.

Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) would allow the government to tap additional power capacity for the summer of 2015.

Petilla said the Philippines will need 9,011 megawatts of power next year, higher than this year’s demand of 8,717 MW on the back of the projected growth in the economy.

Under Petilla’s plan, the government, through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) would rent bunker-fueled power facilities to fill up the projected shortfall of 300 to 500 MW.

Earlier, the chairman of the House of Representatives committee on energy said he is in favor of declaring a state of emergency in the power sector to avert the looming power shortage in the summer of 2015 but also on a limited basis.