‘Problematic power generation doubled electricity cost’

MANILA, Philippines — From P6 to P7 per kilowatt-hour, the cost of electricity has doubled to P11 per kwh due to problematic power generation, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate committee on energy, yesterday said he could not say yet whether there is a conspiracy, thus warranting a Senate investigation.

“It’s hard to tell if there is connivance. But the truth, the facts, the wholesale electricity spot market, the WESM that we call, hit P11 per kilowatt-hour. So you don’t have electricity, yet you have to pay more,” he said in an interview over dzBB radio.

“It used to be just an average of P6 or P7. So at the onset of the summer season, starting late March, when the heat became intense and there were many red and yellow alerts, I saw that the price of electricity was slowly rising... but it should also be investigated from a competition standpoint,” he added.

The senator called for proactive measures to address the situation, urging the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a task force to prepare for worsening conditions.                                   

He said the DOE has to explain why the country experiences shortage of electricity when several months ago, agency officials assured the public of sufficient electricity supply.