Women campaign vs sale of hydro plants

By Antonio L. Colina IV

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

THE Mindanao Commission on Women (MCW) said on Monday they are campaigning to gather at least a million signatures to stop the privatization of the Agus-Pulangui Hydro Complex before the opening of Congress session on July 31.

Irene Morada Santiago, chief executive officer of the MCW, speaking during Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City, said the one million signatures will be presented during the opening of the congress next month.

She said it’s not yet too late to stop the plans of the Philippine government to privatize its remaining power assets. By turning over the Agus-Pulangui to the private sector, the government believes it will solve Mindanao's problem in power lack and hopefully pay up the debt of the National Power Corporation (Napocor).

But, Santiago said the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) Law failed to meet its objective to bring down the prices of the electricity in the country since its implementation in 2001.

"It should provide consumers with affordable and reliable power," she said.

In Luzon, cost of power per kilowatt hour (kWh) in 2001 was only P5.32. But now it spiked to P9.84 kWh. In Visayas for the same year, power cost was only P5.21 a kWh, but now it goes up to P8.19 a kWh.

In Mindanao, the power cost in 2001 was at P3.52 a kWh, even as the power assets of the government are not yet privatized, it went up to P6.70 kWh.

In the country 91 percent of all power sources have been privatized.
She said if Agus-Pulangui are privatized "the rates will be out of the hands."

"The power here will not be public utility," she added.

She said that whereas of the government will still own the management of these power assets, there's a limit as to the rates, but "not so if not anymore public."

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on June 13, 2012.   source