Bro. Eddie Tells Government To Address Mindanao Power Crisis Now

Bangon Pilipinas lone senatorial candidate Eddie Villanueva on Sunday urged Malacañang to act now to address the continuing threat of another power crisis in Mindanao, saying massive disruptions will set back decades worth of progress in the region.

Mindanao is bracing for a worse power situation this summer with lowered capacity from the hydroelectric power plants, the island’s primary power sources. Some parts of the region, notably in General Santos City, have reportedly started experiencing 7- to 8-hour brownouts.

Villanueva said the government should aggressively develop Mindanao’s generating capacity and diversify energy sources to lessen the grid’s dependence on hydro power which produces less power during prolonged dry season including summer months.

“If we are to sustain our solid economic performance in the past years, the government should find a sustainable solution to the Mindanao power crisis which is now seeing signs of a resurgence of eight-hour power blackouts in 2010,” Villanueva said.

“Without an interconnection with the Luzon and Visayas grid that will allow generated power in these regions to augment supply in Mindanao, the government should look into developing more indigenous, renewable power sources in the region to meet its growing electricity requirements.”

Development of renewable energy sources
Particularly, Villanueva said the government should provide incentives for the development of renewable energy sources in Mindanao, such as solar power facilities, run-of-the-river and biomass power plants.

Already, some parts of the region have been experiencing rotating brownouts with the continued failure to provide adequate power supply to the region.

For its Sunday’s power outlook, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines predicted a 55-megawatt (MW) power supply shortfall in Mindanao when it hits its daily peak load of 1,222 MW.

Villanueva said the government should look closer into the reasons why private power producers in Mindanao hold off power sales to the grid due to lower power rates in the region compared to those in Luzon and Visayas grids.

“Mindanao’s generation capacity per se is sufficient to meet the region’s power requirements. However, the reluctance of private power producers to sell their generated power to the grid contributes significantly to the supply short fall that the region currently faces,” Villanueva said.

Plight of residents, businesses
“The government should exercise its power to bring this available power into the grid, and consider the plight of residents and businesses in Mindanao who bear the brunt of such business decision to hold off power sales to the grid just to force electricity rate up,” he said.

“Residents and business owners have started complaining about these rotating brownouts that last seven or eight hours because these have disrupted their lives and livelihood,” Villanueva noted. “Government needs to act now to avert any more problems.”

Villanueva noted that the Philippines currently has one of the highest power rates in Asia next only to Japan, suggesting that power generation companies in the country are making big money from their businesses.

“These companies should recognize the public interest imbued in the power generation business. And the government must adopt policies that aim protect the consuming public against profit-oriented mentality in operating a public utility,” Villanueva said.