DOE to work with Congress on solutions to power woes

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang will continue to work with Congress to determine the appropriate actions to be taken to address the energy crisis that is expected to hit the country in the summer of 2015.

Instead of approving a joint resolution granting President Aquino the emergency powers he said he would need to ensure sufficient power supply, the House of Representatives earlier ordered an inquiry into the need for additional authority.

Senate President Franklin Drilon and Sen. Sergio Osmeña III also filed separate resolutions seeking an inquiry into the country’s need for additional generating power.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said yesterday that Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla would be ready to provide details and studies to answer any questions that the Senate and the House might have regarding the submission for additional authority under Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

“The Department of Energy (DOE) has made extensive studies on the options available to government when it comes to the situation by 2015,” Valte said over dzRB.

She also said Malacañang is aware of the concerns on additional expenses that might be passed on to consumers when contracting more capacity and procuring or leasing generator sets. Thus, concerned officials are looking into the difference in budget allocations and implications of various proposals on the bills of consumers.

Valte expressed confidence that informal discussions would continue as Congress had gone on recess to ensure that the power issue would be addressed, especially since the Philippines would be hosting a lot of international events next year, particularly the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

House Resolution 1533, authored by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, directed the committee on energy to “conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the need to establish additional generating capacity to ensure the energy requirements of the country, in accordance with Section 71 of EPIRA.”

The resolution was filed on Sept. 25, a week after Aquino formally wrote Congress asking for a joint resolution authorizing him to establish additional generating capacity to address what government says is an imminent electric power shortage in the Luzon grid next summer.

Meanwhile, in Proposed Senate Resolution 934, Drilon directed the committee on energy chaired by Osmeña to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the need to establish additional generating capacity to ensure the energy requirements of the country, in accordance with the EPIRA.

In Osmeña’s Proposed Senate Resolution 933, on the other hand, the senator directed his committee to conduct an inquiry, also in aid of legislation, to determine government’s options to ease the power shortage in 2015.

Members of both the House and the Senate said Aquino would have to specify what authority he would need, while the DOE should quantify how much the additional generating capacity would cost consumers in terms of power rate hikes.