Petilla: Mindanao power crisis existed even before I joined DOE

MANILA, Philippines - Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said over the weekend that Mindanao has already been experiencing power crisis even before he took over as Energy chief in 2012.

Petilla was reacting to calls of Sen. Sergio Osmeña III for him to resign for allegedly failing to solve the Mindanao power crisis.

He said he serves at the pleasure of President Aquino. 

“I respect his opinion but it has been my frustration that I cannot satisfy everybody especially when working for the government. Just the same, I continue to serve under the pleasure of the President until such time that my services are no longer needed,” he said.

The Energy chief said the Mindanao power failure has been there for a long time. He said he has warned of the effects of the Mindanao power crisis early on and urged cooperatives to avail of the government’s generator sets program to help augment supply.

Aquino issued in July last year Executive Order 137 mandating the implementation of the Mindanao Modular Generator Sets Program to help avert another power situation in the region.

Under the EO, electric cooperatives could generate power they need either through rental or acquisition of generator sets.

The Energy department earlier approved the use of around P4.5 billion from the Malampaya funds as loans to Mindanao-based power cooperatives to be administered by National Electrification Administration (NEA).

Mindanao is currently suffering from two to three hours rotating power blackouts, after an island-wide outage gripped the province on Feb. 27.

Petilla said the blackout stemmed from an internal error experienced by Steag State Power’s 210-megawatt coal fired power plant in Misamis Oriental.