Voice from the South
Manila Bulletin
By FR. EMETERIO BARCELON, SJ
August 12, 2011, 1:20am
MANILA, Philippines — The land of plenty is true for Mindanao with respect to hydro electric power. The beautiful Maria Cristina Falls, named after a queen of Spain, was harnessed to produce electricity.
Although it can easily produce about 1,000 megawatts, right now it produces only about 700 MW or about half of the electricity demand of the island. The roar of cascading water is opened for tourists only on Sundays at eleven in the morning.
The potential of this Agus River from Lake Lanao water, they say, is up to 2,000 MW. The other hydro system is the Polangui River with capacity at present of 400 MW but producing less than 200 MW. These two power sources were exempted from privatization ten years ago in the law dismantling the government monopoly but to be privatized after ten years.
Almost all thinking Mindanao citizens do not want this privatization to be done until there is enough power in the Mindanao grid to supply present needs. The main objection to privatization is that it will trigger a spike in the cost of electricity.
Some of the big boys want privatization now which would be reasonable if in the past ten years something was done to provide adequate power for the island. Since nothing was done, privatization at this point would punish the consumers unnecessarily.
The subsidy for these electric systems would not be necessary if the income from these power systems were retained in Mindanao and the pricing for this electricity were normalized. Right now, the NPC can only charge about P3 for this power.
It is true that the actual cost is only about P1 per kW. It should be allowed to charge the going rate and be able to keep the money here in Mindanao instead of sending it to Manila for PSALM and other NPC expenditures. Privatization should be done only when there is surplus power in Mindanao. Right now the Mindanao grid is always in danger of brown outs as there is no reserve power available.
The enigma of power in Mindanao is because hydro or water sources are so abundant that electricity has been cheap. Consequently no new Mindanao hydro power has been established in the past ten or twenty years. There is not even enough power for present needs although the potential is there.
How can we expect industry to locate in Mindanao when there is no power available? There are two hydro systems possible: That from a lake and that from run of the river. These have very different characteristics. The lake source cannot be counted on as base power because it is subject to drought but the river systems are much less vulnerable to drought.
Last year, the Mindanaons wondered why, when there were brown outs, their electricity bill went up. Simply because the distributors supplement with bunker sources which cost at least P17 per kW hour; against P3 for NPC’s mixed sources and about P4 from coal. Mindanao must not be treated as the other grids until it is connected to the national grid or enough power is available in the island. Privatizing it now is good only for the big boys who can bid for it at the expense of the ordinary consumer.
Over-regulation is also one of the obstacles of investors coming to a country. The Philippines is noted for this. Is it because we have to control with laws and regulations since we cannot trust the citizens to pursue national interests? Probably this is because of our upbringing. We are used to following orders rather than reasoned with, as children.
There is a deficit in the internalization of what is the objective and the behavior that is best for the community. Regulation is good but over-regulation is not. Rules are good but bureaucracy is not.
The focus on the objectives and not on the process is needed. Periodic review of regulations should be done and remove those regulations that hamper achievement of objectives rather than facilitate it. Without this review, arthritic regulations hamper objective achievement. There is need to get things done. <emeterio_barcelon@yahoo.com>
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