Manila: The lower house of Congress will grant President Benigno Aquino emergency power before end of November so that he could fast track the solution of an impending power crisis in northern Luzon in 2015, a congressman said.
“I am confident the emergency power needed by the president will be granted before end of November,” said Congressman Reynaldo Umali, adding the resolution of the energy committee that gave the president emergency power last Tuesday would be discussed in a plenary session on November 24. A third and final reading of the resolution was also scheduled on November 2.
“I am confident that the Philippines will not suffer power outages next year,” Umali said, adding his colleagues at the House of Representatives feel the same way.
The emergency power will allow the president to implement the government’s Interruptible Load Programme (ILP), which would allow owners of generating sets to distribute electricity, explained Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla.
The project to source 800 megawatts from private providers to keep power supply in the (northern) Luzon grid will cost P450 million (Dh37.6 million),” said Petilla, adding this will fulfil a projected 1,004 megawatt shortage in the summer of 2015.
Petilla blamed next year’s power shortage on the El Nino phenomenon, the current shutdown of a major power plant in Malampaya, southwestern Philippines, ongoing outages of power plants nationwide, and delays in major government power projects.
Congressman Neri Colmenares of Bayan, a militant sector at the House of Representatives complained the department of energy has not really proven the possible occurrence of power shortage next year.
The People Oposed to Unwarranted Electricity Rates (POWER) group also complained that members of the private sector selected by the department of energy to participate in the government-initiated plan “could profit from a scheme that would be implemented immediately after the president is granted emergency power”.
The emergency power given to Aquino has also a provision allowing private sources of electricity “reasonable recovery” of costs that they would incur, said POWER, adding the government-initiated solution to the crisis could “burden consumers”.
Local businessmen also complained the Philippines has the most expensive power rates in Southeast Asia.
This is one reason why the Philippines is not attracting foreign direct investments, they said, adding the Philippines has also failed to undertake a major infrastructure project for adequate power supply nationwide.
