Asenior lawmaker scored the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the daily 20-hour brownouts in Occidental Mindoro, warning that “this man-made disaster” could spill over to other islands.
Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona’s written chastisement of the ERC is directed at what he said was “the agency’s failure to act” on the request by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) to adjust power rates to reflect the true cost of electricity.
Madrona said last Sunday the daily outages not only inconvenience people but also adversely affect businesses and tourism. According to the lawmaker, the Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corp. (Omeco) hasn’t been able to supply enough power due to Napocor’s unpaid subsidies.
“To date, [the] ERC has not approved Napocor’s request, so that the national government could stop coughing money,” Madrona was quoted in the statement as saying.
According to him, power costs have been rising since last year, particularly due to the increase in fuel costs from P30 ($0.54 at current exchange rates) per liter to P60 ($1.07) per liter.
Known for its Apo Reef, Occidental Mindoro has been grappling with 20-hour brownouts for more than a month now after the supply of electricity from Omeco remained insufficient.
‘Man-made disaster’
EARLIER, the National Government, through the Development Budget Coordinating Council (DBCC), approved a P5-billion loan to pay for Napocor-owned power plants or those that are not connected to the grid.
Madrona also warned that ERC’s failure to address issues that led to daily power outages could spill over to other small islands being serviced by small island power utilities;. These include Palawan, Mindoro, Masbate, Romblon and Catanduanes.
“This man-made disaster is not only a source of inconvenience and irritation but will also adversely affect businesses, especially tourism, which is one of the main sources of livelihood in these island-provinces,” he said.
In a hearing at the House of Representatives last month, Omeco President Eleanor S. Costibolo said the brownouts were caused by red tape inside the ERC and which hobbled the firm’s ability to pay suppliers.
“The subsidy is the root of all problems. That’s why if you’ll ask me now what can be done, we can enter [into] an emergency-power procurement,” Costibolo said during the hearing. She emphasized mismanagement is far from the crux of the matter.
House Resolution 34, authored by Occidental Mindoro Rep. Leody F. Tarriela, called for an investigation into the power problems in the island of 530,000 people.
Talks with NEA
AT the Upper Chamber, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy Sen. Raffy T. Tulfo confirmed he talked to National Electrification Administrator (NEA) Antonio Mariano C. Almeda last Sunday to discuss the current energy crisis in Occidental Mindoro.
“It can be recalled that as early as April 5, in the middle of Holy Week, [the] Senate Committee on Energy conducted an emergency consultative meeting involving various government agencies to discuss the widespread brownout in Occidental Mindoro,” a statement issued by Tulfo’s office read.
The statement revealed that Omeco will make a board resolution so that the NEA will loan the cooperative P50 million to buy bunker fuel as a temporary immediate solution to the power outage.
Tulfo said he asked Almeda about NEA’s current action to address the power crisis. The lawmaker said the NEA chief asked to be given three weeks to provide a concrete solution to the problem.
“Sa ibinigay na briefing ni Almeda sa akin, hiniling niya na bigyan siya ng hanggang tatlong linggo mula ngayon para makapagbigay sila ng konkretong solusyon sa problemang ito,” Tulfo was quoted in the statement as saying.
Tulfo quoted Almeda as saying that the NEA already requested a Certificate of Exemption (COE) from the Department of Energy (DOE) to allow Omeco to enter into an Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA).
“When this happens, they will be able to secure modular gensets [generator sets] from Singapore that can generate up to 17 megawatts (MW),” the statement read.
Napocor loans
TULFO said he was told that NEA already asked for transfer of four modular gensets with 2MW each from Mindanao. These are the same type of modular gensets that were used in 2013 to 2014 when there was an emergency power crisis in Mindanao.
The lawmaker further said that the NEA already asked DMCI Power Corp. to provide approximately 5MW of electricity from Oriental Mindoro to Occidental Mindoro. This 5MW will immediately provide an extra four hours of electricity per day in the latter island, Tulfo said.
He added he was also informed that the NEA and the DOE have requested the Department of Finance to remove the restriction on the next loan secured by Napocor so that it can be used in the entire missionary electrification areas.
In the current policy, the Napocor cannot use the loan they get in areas already covered by private power providers that supply electricity, like with Omeco, which is no longer included in the Spug areas of Napocor; areas where Napocor remains the power provider.
Tulfo said that the NEA has asked Napocor to be the one to operate the old and unused Napocor plant they will renovate so that it becomes an operational plant that can generate up to 10MW.
Tulfo steps in, too
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, Senator Raffy Tulfo, confirmed that he already talked with National Electrification Administrator (NEA) Antonio Almeda today to discuss the current energy crisis in Occidental Mindoro, which has been placed under a state of calamity due to 20-hour daily power outages for more than a month now.
It can be recalled that as early as April 5, in the middle of Holy Week, Tulfo’s Senate Committee on Energy conducted an emergency consultative meeting involving various government agencies to discuss the widespread brownout in Occidental Mindoro.
It was discussed then that the Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, Inc (OMECO) will make a board resolution so that the NEA will loan them 50 million pesos to buy bunker fuel as a temporary immediate solution to the power outage.
In his discussion with Almeda, Tulfo shared that he particularly asked him about NEA’s current action to urgently address the power crisis.
“Sa ibinigay na briefing ni Admin Almeda sa akin, hiniling niya na bigyan siya ng hanggang tatlong linggo mula ngayon para makapagbigay sila ng konkretong solusyon sa problemang ito,” he said.
Tulfo said that according to Almeda, NEA has already requested a Certificate of Exemption (COE) from the Department of Energy (DOE) to allow OMECO to enter into the Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA). When this happens, they will be able to secure modular gensets from Singapore that can generate up to 17 megawatts (MW).
Tulfo was told that NEA already asked for transfer of four modular gensets with 2MW each from Mindanao which can produce up to 8MW. These are the same modular gensets that were used in 2013-2014 when there was an emergency power crisis in Mindanao.
Likewise, Tulfo shared that NEA already asked DMCI Power Corporation to provide approximately 5MW of electricity from Oriental Mindoro to Occidental Mindoro. This 5MW will immediately provide an extra 4 hours of electricity per day in Occidental Mindoro.
Tulfo was also informed that NEA and DOE have requested the Department of Finance (DOF) to remove the restriction on the next loan secured by the National Power Corporation (NPC) so that it can be used in the entire missionary electrification areas.
Notably, in the current policy, the NPC cannot use the loan they get in areas already covered by private power providers that supply electricity, like with OMECO, which is no longer included in the Small Power Utility Group (SPUG) areas of the NPC. SPUG refers to areas where NPC remains the power provider.
Additionally, Tulfo shared that NEA has asked NPC to be the one to operate the old and unused NPC plant that they will renovate so that it becomes an operational plant that can generate up to 10MW.
The senator from Isabela and Davao likewise said that he already called Malacañang on Saturday to ask for an appointment to personally talk to President Bongbong Marcos to discuss how the Senate can help with said issue.
