EDITORIAL - Where’s the back-up power supply?

Perhaps we haven’t had much practice in dealing with blackouts. After all, it’s been a decade since Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon suffered from regular power outages. Back in those days dealers of electricity generators made a killing as harried people braced for a long energy crisis. When power was finally restored, several months into a new administration, the generators were put in storage and soon forgotten.

Now there’s another energy crisis. Officials of the state-run power company have warned of blackouts in case it suffered further financial losses due to the suspension of its collection of the purchased power adjustment or PPA. This problem is going to be protracted, and it would do no harm for certain government agencies to put generators on standby.

Among the facilities needing reliable generators are the airports, particularly the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The last thing the nation needs, on top of the Abu Sayyaf hostage crisis, is news of international flights disrupted and passengers stranded because of blackouts. Then there are the overhead railway systems. During the Luzon-wide blackout this week, thousands of commuters stranded in the railway coaches did not immediately disembark. Instead they waited several minutes for the power to come back so their fare would not be wasted. The commuters finally disembarked when they realized the lights weren’t coming back for some time.

Some of the commuters also waited a long time before disembarking because they knew traffic would be infernal on the ground. With the huge amount paid for what is supposed to be a smart traffic light system in Metro Manila, how come no one even bothered to provide the system with a back-up power source? In a power outage all traffic lights blink out, and motorists are lucky if the route they take is manned by traffic cops.

Generators don’t come cheap. Also, there are unscrupulous public officials who may order generators even if not needed, simply to earn a commission. But the facilities needing generators are easy to identify. Officials should study which agencies need improved readiness for blackouts. Unless someone can come up soon with a scheme to provide ample electricity at pre-PPA rates to consumers, the nation is in for a long energy crisis.