PNoy TO RESOLVE BLACKOUTS?
MANILA,
MARCH 29, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By
Paolo Romero - Administration lawmakers said yesterday President Aquino might
call a special session so Congress could grant him emergency powers to allow him
to swiftly resolve the worsening power situation in Mindanao.
Aquino, meanwhile, appealed to the public to give the government more time to
solve the power crisis. He said the solutions could not be undertaken overnight
as the problem had been neglected by previous administrations.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, chairman of the House committee on public
information, warned of more economic losses and damage to the image of the
Philippines before the investor community if the widespread blackouts in
Mindanao would continue.
"The situation could be considered urgent and critical that needs swift
action from the President," he said. "Many of us in the administration bloc are
willing to support moves to grant the President emergency powers if necessary."
Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco, vice chairman of the House
committee on small business and entrepreneurship development, and Negros
Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez also supported calls to give Aquino more muscle to
address the power crisis in Mindanao.
"We cannot just flick our fingers and command the Department of Energy (DOE)
to correct the imbalance between demand and supply of energy. This
administration is barely two years old and the Mindanao energy problem has been
there since three decades ago," Haresco said.
He said it would take at least two years to rehabilitate a power plant and
many years – including four years for government approval processes – to build
one from the ground up.
Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, who earlier warned that the power
crisis could be artificial, supported the calls of his colleagues "provided that
it is clear why it (emergency powers) is needed."
Nograles said "all data and information on the Mindanao power shortage would
come from the executive branch" and it would be up to lawmakers to decide
whether granting Aquino special powers is warranted.
"The DOE (Department of Energy) earlier stated that the situation was
manageable unless the situation has changed, then we have to reassess," he said.
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño earlier proposed a government
takeover of privatized power barges in Mindanao as an immediate step to address
the power crisis in the region.
"It appears that there is enough power supply in Mindanao. The problem is
that it is too expensive so the power distributors are not buying for fear of
going bankrupt," Casiño said.
P-Noy: Looking for right solutions
Speaking at the birthday party of Imus Rep. Erineo Maliksi on Sunday,
President Aquino said that the government had started working on the
rehabilitation of the Agus hydropower complex in Mindanao.
The National Power Corp. (Napocor) said the P2.6- billion upgrading project
for Units 1 and 2 of Agus 6 would not only increase their generating capacity to
69 megawatts from the current 20 MW but also extend the economic life of the
generators by 30 years.
The President said billions, not "thousands or millions," would be needed to
repair the Agus hydropower complex.
"The parts for that, like a light bulb in the house, (are) good but there
will come a time that it will burn out," he said.
Aquino said the Agus hydropower plants were built in 1953 and had been
running for the last 59 years when the parts were only good for 30 years.
"In short, we need to fix that. I just thought, 30 years ago I just graduated
from college… they should have fixed that so it's no longer a problem now. It
needs 30 months to be repaired. The machines are huge and must be improved," he
said.
The President said the power being generated in Mindanao was not enough to
meet demand and that the distributors were also selling more than what they
contracted.
He said power barges were temporary solutions but the crude oil for them
would be expensive and thus the people would have to share the burden if they
did not want blackouts to continue.
Aquino said Mindanao residents will have to bear higher costs of electricity
while the coal-fired power plants were being built, and these would become
operational in two years or by 2014.
He acknowledged the power outage at the Zamboanga International Airport that
led to the cancellation of flights but stressed, "I did not promise that in two
days everything will already be in place. It's not just like changing a light
bulb. We are going to replace components in a hydroelectric dam."
As regards the coal-fired plants, Aquino said the development would also take
time.
He said he might again be criticized for the problem, but stressed that he
was attending to it along with many other concerns of the country.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the problem had been anticipated
in 2010, that is why Energy Secretary Rene Almendras sought investments for
non-hydro plants, specifically coal-fired power plants.
Lacierda said there were various recommendations submitted to the President
on how to address the problem.
He said Mindanao Development Authority chair Luwalhati Antonino could push
through with her investigation on whether the power crisis was artificial but
they would rather focus on the solutions.
Lacierda said mixing various sources of power from barges and hydro plants
could make electricity costs lower.
He said Almendras also talked with the electric cooperatives to have
mandatory rationing – meaning stopping the use of power at certain times as well
as equitable distribution to ensure that those at the end of the line would
still have supply.
"But it will depend on the people of Mindanao if they are willing to
cooperate with the energy authority," Lacierda said. – Aurea
Calica
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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