Lawmakers seek probe on solar power allocation cut

By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated December 14, 2011 12:00 AM


MANILA, Philippines - Two Mindanao congressmen urged the House energy committee yesterday to inquire into the reduction of solar power under the national renewable energy program.


In Resolution 1910, Representatives Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City and his brother Maximo, who represents the party-list group Abante Mindanao, said the Department of Energy (DOE) should explain the reduction from 269 megawatts to only 50 megawatts.


They said the big cut has implications for the power situation in Mindanao, which has been experiencing supply shortage as evidenced by off-and-on brownouts.


It also has implications on the country’s program to shift from traditional energy, which pollutes the environment, to “green” energy such as solar, wind and ocean power, they said.


They noted that “in an inexplicable turn of events,” the DOE initially reduced solar power allocation in the renewable energy mix from 269 megawatts to 235, then to 100 and finally to 50 megawatts last Sept. 16.


“An inquiry should be conducted on this issue in order to clarify the stance of the DOE as to why they are more in favor of coal or oil power instead of the more efficient and environmentally friendly renewable energy sources like solar power,” the Rodriguez brothers said.


“The impact on the rate of electricity from the construction of a solar power plant would only be around 2.28 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kwh), as compared to six centavos to one peso in the case of oil-fueled plants,” they said.


They urged the government to construct more renewable energy plants in Mindanao, including solar power plants, to stabilize the supply of electricity in the island.


They said as of now, the island is short of the required reserve capacity of 200 megawatts and brownouts occur whenever one power plant goes out of service.


“Mindanao needs to add at least 200 MW to the existing capacity of power plants within one year in order to avert the frequent occurrence of brownouts,” they stressed.


Renewable energy (RE) investors are awaiting the approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) of the so-called feed-in tariffs or rates for “green” energy plants.


Of the renewable energy mix, run-off water is the cheapest, while solar and wind are among the most expensive.


ERC officials have told a congressional hearing that once renewable energy plants start operating, electricity rates would go up by about 12 centavos per kilowatt-hour.


The rate increase has prompted calls from some sectors to defer the RE program considering that at their present levels, power rates in the country are among the highest not only in Asia but in the entire world as well.