Consultations staged to resolve power crisis

by Philippines News Agency February 17, 2016
http://www.mb.com.ph/consultations-staged-to-resolve-power-crisis/

Cagayan De Oro City – A consultative meeting attended by stakeholders in the energy industry in Northern Mindanao started here yesterday, a lawmaker said.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan De Oro City, said on Tuesday that the consultative meeting would tackle the issue of bombings and right of way (ROW) of transmission towers in the region.

Top officials of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), local government and elections officials, the military and the police have been invited to the consultative meeting, Rodriguez said.

He said that the House Committee on Energy would want to get inputs from the stakeholders, themselves, on how to possibly resolve the issue through legislation and the passage of laws in Congress.

Rodriguez likewise expressed serious concern over the seemingly relentless bombings of transmission towers which have resulted in massive power outages.

“We are quite apprehensive if the power blackouts would occur on the day of the election on May 9,” Rodriguez said.

Last Monday, the provincial board members in Misamis Oriental passed a resolution urging the national government “to take urgent action to include the declaration of a state of emergency in the affected areas.”

The same resolution also called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the national government “to adopt proactive measures to prevent the collapse of the Mindanao power grid, ensure the continued supply of electricity, and protect the integrity of the May 9, 2016 national and local elections.

The NGCP has reported that in January this year, two incidents of bombing destroyed power transmission lines in Lanao Del Sur, which brought to 18 the total number of NGCP towers which have been attacked since the fourth quarter of 2015.

“The NGCP also finds it difficult to repair and maintain damaged power grids because the owners refused the entry of maintenance men because of the absence of the right-of-way,” he added.