Senate won’t tackle P-Noy’s special powers

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino’s request for special powers to address a looming power shortage this summer continues to face uncertainty as the Senate still has not scheduled a hearing on the issue.

The President’s request would not be tackled by the Senate in their remaining meetings this month and whether or not it would be tackled at all remains to be seen, Senate President Franklin Drilon said.

Even with the risk of the Luzon grid plunging into blackouts in summer, Drilon said he could not determine when the hearings would be set as this will depend on  Sen. Serge Osmeña, who chairs the Senate committee on energy.

“I really could not say when… Whether or not this is a reality will have to be determined by the chair,” he told reporters on Friday night during the Annual Reception for the Banking Community hosted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The Senate needs to pass its own version of the joint resolution that would give Aquino special powers to tap additional capacity to avert the projected power shortage this summer. 

The House of Representatives has approved its own version in December. However, Osmeña said last month that the Senate committee is not in a hurry to deliberate on the resolution. 

Osmeña has not scheduled a hearing yet since the start of the year but said, “the organizing efforts for the ILP (Interruptible Load Program) seem to be going well.”

Under the ILP scheme, big power users will be asked to run their own generators in the summer months when the power supply is short, instead of getting their power from the Luzon grid. In exchange, they will be compensated for their fuel costs.

The electricity not taken from the grid would then be available to households and other users, sparing them from rotating blackouts.

The ILP is gaining traction with total committed capacity at 685.07 megawatts, Osmeña noted.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said negotiations with big power users are ongoing and the target is to secure 800 to 1000 megawatts in ILP commitments by the end of the month.

Blackouts loom in the summer as authorities project a power supply shortage of at least 700 megawatts due to higher demand for electricity during the hot months.