Electric coops warn of power crisis in off-grid areas

OFF-GRID utilities that source their electricity from state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) are appealing to President Benigno Aquino 3rd to address a power crisis in their service areas because of the government’s inability to secure their fuel requirements. In an open letter to the President, members of the Association of Isolated Electric Cooperatives Inc. (AIEC) said all the islands under Napocor’s Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) are projected to suffer acute power outages by end-January.

“The present government’s vision and desire to implement economic revolution in the rural areas, particularly in the remotest islands, by mitigating the migration of people to urban centers, will be jeopardized if and when this impending crisis will not be resolved expeditiously,” the group said.

Napocor’s SPUG provides power to islands and missionary areas across the country. Because of the off-grid areas’ limited markets and lack of commercial viability, consumers nationwide subsidize SPUG’s operations.

Napocor has had difficulties in sourcing funds for its SPUG operations after the Department of Justice ruled that the former could only raise additional debt for refinancing activities.

Worse, the Energy Regulatory Commission approved only half of the P5 billion in universal charges that Napocor sought for SPUG’s requirements this year.

A group of 39 electric cooperatives sourcing their power supply from SPUG, the AIEC said a diesel shortage has resulted in power outages in Tablas Island, Romblon and Polilio Island, Quezon.

“If unresolved soon, this could lead to social unrest, losses in economic activities, particularly in local tourism industries and investors’ loss of confidence in rural economies,” the group said.

The group serves 652,879 households or about 3.2 million Filipinos.

The members of AIEC include electric cooperatives in Romblon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Quezon, Masbate, Catanduanes, Marinduque, Palawan, Cebu, Antique, Surigao del Norte, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. –EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO REPORTER, Manila Times