No need for emergency state to solve Mindanao power crisis

MANILA, Philippines – There is no need to declare a state of emergency in Mindanao due to a recurring power crisis, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said.

“It looks like we can do it (solving the power problem of Mindanao) without declaring a state of emergency,” Almendras told a press conference after meeting with officials of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and National Grid Corp. of Philippines (NGCP) in efforts to find solutions to the continuing rotating brownouts in the island grid.

Declaring a state of emergency in the region was previously considered by the past administration to help find a better solution to the Mindanao power crisis.

Failing to get sufficient data from NGCP, Almendras said he would be meeting with the two parties again on Monday (Oct. 4), as he claimed that he is not getting a clearer picture on the real flow of po-wer in Mindanao.

One Taipan Holdings Corp., controlled by Henry Sy Jr., bought out the 30-percent stake of the group of Monte Oro Resources of businessman Enrique Razon in NGCP. The other consortium members are State Grid of China as the foreign partner and Calaca High Power Corp. as the other local partners.

On Jan. 15, 2009, state-owned National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) officially turned over the management and operation of its nationwide power transmission system to NGCP. The concession period is for 25 years and renewable for another 25 years.

Almendras said there are issues on the proper dispatching of power, causing the brownouts in Mindanao.

“I will get to the bottom of this…why they are not dispatching the way they should be,” he said.

The energy chief even admitted that the lack of information sharing among the stakeholders could be blamed on the loopholes of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) which, he said, would really need revisions very soon before the situation worsens.

“On the government side, I can do something about it. But I cannot meddle with business on the private side,” Almendras said.

“There is nothing wrong with privatization. Privatization is good but there is really a need for us to revisit EPIRA. It’s been nine years. Some countries like Australia is reviewing their power law every five years. I think there is also an urgent need for us to review our power law,” he said. –Donnabelle L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star)