EDITORIAL – A summer reminder

As summer is about to sweep through the country, the usual problem associated with dry season has started to take its course. In other parts of the country, power interruptions are now a part of the daily life.

For the past days, energy authorities talked about the impending power shortage, warning that supply would be scarce, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao where rotational brownouts are common during summer.

Aside from the power shortage, ageing machinery is also another problem. Weeks ago, a glitch hit the grid that provides power to the Visayas, sending less supply to Cebu that resulted in power interruptions.

A combination of old machinery and less power supply has been the prime concern by the energy sector since the 1990s. But the government, it seems, is helpless in fixing the problem.

When power shortage started to hit the country in the remaining years of the Cory Aquino administration, it sucked billions  out of the economy as large areas plunged into darkness, forcing many businesses to shut down.

Until now, energy problem remains the biggest challenge for the government. What's more unfortunate is that the present administration seems to lack concrete solutions. 

While the international community has started to renew interest in the country owing to its economic resurgence, poor infrastructure, including a lousy power distribution system, could delay its entry.

Yes, the country has plenty of energy sources that, if utilized, could greatly reduce its reliance on overseas oil, the bulk of which fuels the local power-producing machineries. But they should have been tapped decades ago.

Now, international investors wonder if the country can sustain its high economic growth considering the present energy problems. If this power crisis continues, multinational companies could again sidestep the Philippines in favor of its neighbors.

The next wave of rotational interruptions is again reminding us that the authorities still have to solve the pestering power problem.