December 2, 2019 | 9:53 pm
THE DEPARTMENT
of Energy (DoE) said the only way to achieve ”closure” on the issue of China’s
alleged capability to remotely shut down the power transmission system is a
audit of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).
“Is the threat real or
imagined? That can only be answered by us, the government, inspecting it and
making sure… that the oversight function of the government is carried and we
put in place whatever measures that would prevent it from happening,” Energy
Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said Monday.
He made the remarks in
response to questions during a briefing at the DoE head office in Taguig City
to launch the celebrations for the National Energy Consciousness Month and the
department’s 47th anniversary.
“Kaya ba nila i-shutdown
(Can they shut it down)? In this digital age, anything and practically
everything is possible remotely,” he said.
Mr. Cusi said when he
assumed office in 2016, he asked that the grid facilities be inspected by
National Transmission Corp. (TransCo), the government company that owns the
transmission assets.
He said on many
occasions NGCP refused inspection. He said his office “then and now” wanted to
find out how the fiber optics at the transmission facilities are being used
because of the government’s plan to use it for the national broadband network.
“So we asked, how is it
being used then and now, who is using and what is the revenue?” he said, adding
that revenue could have been used to reduce the transmission cost, which is
part of electricity consumers monthly bill.
Mr. Cusi said he was
giving China the benefit of the doubt that it would not shut down the
Philippines’ transmission system, noting that the State Grid Corporation of
China, which a 40% stake in NGCP, also operates in Australia.
“The only way that we
can put a closure to this is that we inspect. We need to do our job,” he said.
Energy Undersecretary
Felix William B. Fuentebella said the assessment of NGCP’s facilities was not
meant to be a “blame game” but to allow the DoE “to see where we are we now and
where are we going in the future” to improve the transmission system.
Melvin A. Matibag,
TransCo president and chief executive officer, said the company as well as the
government, including Mr. Cusi, will not resort to an action that is against
the law or the concession agreement with NGCP.
However, he questioned
whether the top official of NGCP has national security clearance to have access
to the Virtual Private Network (VPN), which the grid operator said is
disconnected from the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, the system that
controls the grid.
NGCP had said that VPN
access may be granted only to its Filipino chief executive officer in an
emergency and only through a secure, confidential approval process.
“Hindi naman…
gagawin ng China (I don’t think China will do this). In fact, I want to
make it clear we are not referring to China. We are referring to the
concessionaire — the NGCP,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Cusi
gave a brief report on some of the DoE’s milestones for 2019, including the
policies and programs on energy security such as the Philippine Conventional
Energy Contracting Program and the issuance of a circular covering the general
framework on ancillary services, or the contracting of reserve power.
He also said the DoE
was able to issue an order allowing the direct remittance of financial benefits
to hosts of power generation and energy resource development projects.
The department also
initiated rules relating to the further development of renewable energy. — Victor
V. Saulon
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