CITY, Philippines—Albay Governor Joey Salceda has expressed dismay that other places enjoy cheaper and clean electricity from Albay’s geothermal energy fields while his own province has to endure spikes in power rates imposed by the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC).
Salceda noted that the Aboitiz Power Corp. recently announced that it has already been supplying clean energy to San Fernando Electric Light and Power Co. in Pampanga with power from its Tiwi and MakBan geothermal facilities in Bicol and Laguna, respectively, since September 26.
“It's so unfair. Consumers of San Fernando Electric Light and Power Co. are getting cheaper electricity from Albay,” Salceda said in an interview last Thursday.
San Fernando Electric will have Aboitiz Power as its exclusive energy supplier until December 25, 2012.
Salceda, quoting a report from the San Fernando Electric, said the Aboitiz power coming from Albay is sold at a cheaper price, thus electric consumers in Pampanga pay less because there is no value-added tax imposed on renewable energy.
Meanwhile, he said, the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) has to settle some P982 million in outstanding power bills with PEMC.
For the electric cooperative to pay, it has to pass on to the consumers the amount of P1.66 additional charge for the electricity consumed as “PEMC debt recovery charges.”
According to Salceda, Aleco has been a “problem cooperative” for the past years due to debts from the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Corp. amounting to P1.7 billion and with the National Electrification Administration, amounting to P180 million.
For the mounting unsettled debts of Aleco, Salceda held responsible the spikes in electricity rates imposed by the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM), which, according to him, is being operated by the PEMC.
He said the irony of it is: “What do Albayanos get from supplying the country with cheap and clean energy—330 megawatts (MW) from Tiwi, Albay since 1976, although lower now at 160MW, which the Aboitiz is now operating?”
By next year, Salceda said, the Bacon-Manito (BacMan) would start operation with another 240MW power generation.
He claimed that, in return, the nationalization of the geothermal fields singlehandedly killed Albay tourism after the famous steam bath cubicles locally known as “baños” were forced to close, as the natural steam it produced no longer existed.
Further, he said, “even if we strip out Aleco's inefficiencies, power purchase costs are far higher at the wholesale electricity spot market and even a similar bilateral supply contract fetched higher costs for comparable volume.”
Moreover, Salceda added, “what the province gets is the depletion of its geothermal reserves that deprives future generations of Albayanos of their benefit even as the past generation as well as the present only enjoy the bragging rights of hosting such national treasure with hardly any financial claw back.”
Salceda noted that the Aboitiz Power Corp. recently announced that it has already been supplying clean energy to San Fernando Electric Light and Power Co. in Pampanga with power from its Tiwi and MakBan geothermal facilities in Bicol and Laguna, respectively, since September 26.
“It's so unfair. Consumers of San Fernando Electric Light and Power Co. are getting cheaper electricity from Albay,” Salceda said in an interview last Thursday.
San Fernando Electric will have Aboitiz Power as its exclusive energy supplier until December 25, 2012.
Salceda, quoting a report from the San Fernando Electric, said the Aboitiz power coming from Albay is sold at a cheaper price, thus electric consumers in Pampanga pay less because there is no value-added tax imposed on renewable energy.
Meanwhile, he said, the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) has to settle some P982 million in outstanding power bills with PEMC.
For the electric cooperative to pay, it has to pass on to the consumers the amount of P1.66 additional charge for the electricity consumed as “PEMC debt recovery charges.”
According to Salceda, Aleco has been a “problem cooperative” for the past years due to debts from the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Corp. amounting to P1.7 billion and with the National Electrification Administration, amounting to P180 million.
For the mounting unsettled debts of Aleco, Salceda held responsible the spikes in electricity rates imposed by the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM), which, according to him, is being operated by the PEMC.
He said the irony of it is: “What do Albayanos get from supplying the country with cheap and clean energy—330 megawatts (MW) from Tiwi, Albay since 1976, although lower now at 160MW, which the Aboitiz is now operating?”
By next year, Salceda said, the Bacon-Manito (BacMan) would start operation with another 240MW power generation.
He claimed that, in return, the nationalization of the geothermal fields singlehandedly killed Albay tourism after the famous steam bath cubicles locally known as “baños” were forced to close, as the natural steam it produced no longer existed.
Further, he said, “even if we strip out Aleco's inefficiencies, power purchase costs are far higher at the wholesale electricity spot market and even a similar bilateral supply contract fetched higher costs for comparable volume.”
Moreover, Salceda added, “what the province gets is the depletion of its geothermal reserves that deprives future generations of Albayanos of their benefit even as the past generation as well as the present only enjoy the bragging rights of hosting such national treasure with hardly any financial claw back.”
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