Posted on Apr. 18, 2013 at 12:02am
President Aquino on Wednesday blamed local officials for the energy situation in Mindanao and said the power crisis would not have occurred if the officials had not insisted that Mindanao be exempted from the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or the Epira law.
The President launched the tirade during the signing of an agreement between the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. (Phividec) Industrial Authority and Filinvest Development Corp. Utilities Inc. in Malacañang.
The agreement involves the 28-year lease of an initial 84.4 hectare of land within the Phividec’s industrial estate in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental where Filinvest plans to construct a coal-fired power plant to help mitigate the ongoing power crisis in Mindanao.
“The energy situation in Mindanao did not arise overnight,” the Chief Executive said. “Trouble began brewing when—and I am sorry to say this—a number of legislators from the region, and other leaders, wished to be exempted from the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.”
“Back then, leaders from Mindanao sought to continue taking advantage of the massive hydro resources in the area, with the dangerous assumption that the cheap hydro power could last forever,” Aquino said.
“[But] they neglected the fact that the hydropower plants are machines that need to be maintained, improved, and if not replaced, especially if they are to meet the increasing demand,” the Chief Executive explained.
“Much more, instead of actively protecting the source of hydropower, illegal logging was allowed to continue, watersheds were lost, which, compounded with the effects of climate change, significantly limited the amount of power that could be produced.
“This focus on maintaining cheap power in an unsustainable manner also scared away investors, who did not have the confidence to set up alternative power resources in Mindanao. In short, temporary convenience trumped preparedness for the future, and, ultimately, the people of Mindanao lost,” he added.
The President made the remarks amid mounting calls from electricity consumers in Mindanao for the government to suspend the looming privatization of the Agus-Pulangi hydropower complexes, which is operated by the state-owned National Power Corp. and supplies more than half of Mindanao’s power requirements.
The consumer group Power Alternative Agenda (Palag) for Mindanao claimed the Agus-Pulangi hydroplants can produce more than enough power for the island, but the government is intent on privatizing the state assets.
Palag chairman Nestor Degoma claimed the state-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (Psalm) is fast-tracking the privatization of the two hydropower complexes and the Department of Energy misinformed the public on the real cause of Mindanao’s power deficit.
Degoma told local news media that the DOE claims that the power crisis was caused by water deficiency in the hydropower plants, but Degoma claims water at the dams were near spill-levels.
Degoma claimed that the hydropower plants can generate more power 1,090 megawatts but is producing only 629 megawatts.
The President, on the other hand, said in his speech that his administration has begun making the “structural changes” that will encourage the private sector to come in and put up power plants.
He cited Aboitiz who has built two coal-fired power plants in Davao last year, which will provide a total of 300 megawatts.
“These will be finished by 2015, and by then, with all the projects we have lined up, we fully expect that this (power shortage) problem will be a thing of the past,” he said.
He also noted that in his recent talks with Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Brunei is seriously considering bringing natural gas to Mindanao to solve the region’s power shortage.
“The memorandums of understanding have already been signed for this project,” he said.
These power plants being put up by private sectors like Aboitiz, which will be producing, by 2016, an estimated production capacity to be almost 470 megawatts above peak demand — “we are not just increasing Mindanao’s maximum capacity. Beyond that, we are reinforcing their entire energy supply with more reliable and stable sources,” the President stressed. source
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