Sen.Ralph Recto stressed this point yesterday in reaction to Malacanang’s announcement that it would consider the privatization of the Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants in addressing the power crisis in Mindanao.
“A piece-meal approach in the power situation in Mindanao might not be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. It’s either all power plants are privatized or all should remain under government control,” he said.
He noted that the government has a “dismal” track record in operating power plants — “a record not bound to improve further once it decides to continue keeping the other power plants under its control.”
“The government should decide once and for all. A half-baked approach in the Mindanao power situation won’t do,” said Recto, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee.
He added: “If a wholesale privatization plan is opted, the energy department and the Energy Regulatory Commission should step in to ensure the right energy mix in Mindanao for optimum capacity and efficiency.”
“We may forego dreaming of reduced power rates soon but we could surely expect a stable supply at steady prices to attract more manufacturing players in Mindanao,” he said.
“We don’t want very expensive power rates in Mindanao or any part of the country. But if it can’t be lowered soon, we just want the assurance that power rates would remain steady and predictable. Can we maintain power rates at P10 per kWhr until 2016?” Recto said.
Recto pointed out that this was the reason why during a budget hearing last year, he asked the Department of Energy to submit a power rate scenario “to show how the power rates will look like over the years.”
“We requested the DoE to plot how the rates will look like in the coming years so that investors will have an idea on the cost of their power requirements in the future,” he said. The senator lamented the DoE never submitted such power rate scenario.
“It’s not enough to promise fewer or no brownouts, the government must also show how the rates will behave over the years,” Recto said. He suggested that to “placate opposition” from the local government units, the government may offer to remit directly their shares from the power plants’ revenues instead of the present practice of drawing it from the DoE, the national government.
Recto noted that LGUs hosting a power plant receive a percentage from the revenues of the operators. The government must also address the dire power situation in SPUG (Small Power Utilities Group) areas, which affects 2.5 million households that have no direct access toelectricity, he said.
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Our country
faces another problem with regards to the shortage of power supply in Mindanao.
Many are suffering from this rotating brownouts that last up to 6 to 8hours. It’s
nice to hear in the news that the recent administration is doing a quick
response to this problem. One of their prospect solution to this dilemma is to privatize
the government owned energy power plants to private investor. They say that
privatizing this energy power plants might lessen our monthly electricity dues.
Also, our country can convince other investor to invest other energy power
plants here in our country.
Like what I
experience back in my province, a 6 to 8hours of rotating brownout affects the
business of my aunt because it depends a lot on electricity in order for it to
operate. So as a part time cashier on my aunt’s business her business slightly
incur loss and sometimes a small amount of profit. Privatizing energy power
plants may be a big help to us but we don’t have the assurance that the prices
in the long run would still be the same or our electricity dues will be lessen.
