Mindanao solons support power coops on EPIRA amendments

By Tony C. Abejo, President, Mangagawang Media Ng Mindanao

Cagayan de Oro City---Three congressmen in Mindanao have spearheaded the movement for the amendment of the controversial Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) in support of the quest of Mindanaoan power distributors to scrap some of its provisions which includes the privatization of the Agus and Pulangi Hydro complexes.

Former Lanao del Norte 1^st District and now Iligan City Solon Vicente (Varf) Belmonte spearheaded a joint resolution at the Lower House HJR0051 seeking the exemption for privatization of two key power producers in Mindanao, the Agus and Pulangi Hydro complexes.

This joint resolution is pending at the House Committee on Energy since November 18, 2009, while Congressmen Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. and Rufus B. Rodriguez filed Resolution No. 40 on July 6, 2010 to the 15^th Congress to make an inquiry regarding the tremendous and sudden increase of power rates in Mindanao due to the ancillary reserve services conducted by Power Barges 117 & 118 of the Therma Marine Incorporated (TMI).

According to our source at the electric cooperatives, all lawmakers in Mindanao have signified their support for the amendment of the EPIRA and are also gaining supports from the lawmakers in Luzon and Visayas.

The unreasonable power rates imposed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the Generation Corporation (GENCO) for the month of February to April 2010 galvanized power cooperatives in Mindanao including private utilities to seek assistance to higher authorities for the amendments of EPIRA law that failed its mandate in preventing the raising of power rates.

Last June 26, 2010, the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperative (AMRECO) composed of 33 members converged at the National Electrification Administration (NEA) Central Office session hall to map strategies to lobby members of the 15^th Congress for the amendment of the controversial Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) which is being cited as culprit for the spiraling and astronomical power rates.

According to Lanao del Norte Electric Cooperative (LANECO) General Manager Resnol Torres, the Mindanaoan electric cooperatives sought the help of House Committee Chair on Energy Congressman Erin Tañada for the amendment of some provisions of EPIRA.

Misamis Occidental I Electric Cooperative (MOELCI–I) GM Noel B. Dumalagan said that EPIRA is being used by NGCP as an excused for their unreasonable power charges which doubled in the months of February, March and April including May.

Misamis Oriental–I Rural Electric Service Cooperative (MORESCO–I) GM Julie Real said, EPIRA must be amended because it failed to prevent the raising of power rates causing undue damage to economic condition of Mindanao because electric is synonymous to economic development.

“If there is no electric power, then there is no development,” Real added.

Meanwhile, power distribution utilities bared that there are two critical short power supply problems in Mindanao as of this month, the unwillingness and inability of the National Power Corporation to meet their obligations to Mindanao consumers under existing Contracts for the Supply of Electricity and the extremely high rates for Ancillary Services charged by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines in the transmission services bills to power consumers for the months of April and May 2010, and this will continue for a year if the application for the NGCP–TMI Ancillary Service Procurement Agreement (ASPA) is given final approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) which had already granted Provisional Authority (PA) to them.

For the months of February to June 2010, the National Power Corporation was not able to supply to their customers in Mindanao the amount of power and energy that were contracted from them under Contracts for the Supply of Electric Energy (CSEE) with the total amount of 1,350 megawatts, providing only 50% to 80% of the requirements of these months resulting with 2 to 8 hours brownouts daily of the franchised areas of distributions utilities resulting with the shutdowns of operations of industrial customers with loses of P1 billion monthly for all the months in which the massive brownouts occurred.

And worst of all, due to the massive brownouts, electric consumers believed that their electric bills lessened because they consumed less, but when electric cooperatives billed them with an increased of more than 100% of their regular bills, complaints filed at electric coops offices throughout Mindanao including private distribution utilities.

They believed that electric coops have increase their electric rates, without knowing that it is the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the Generation Corporation (GENCO) have increased their power rates more than 100% due to the ancillary reserve services which the NGCP had contracted to the Therma Marine Incorporated (TMI).

Due to the massive increase of power rates, movements for the amendments of EPIRA, against the privatization of Agus and Pulangi hydro complexes and against unreasonable ancillary reserved rates sprouted throughout Mindanao.

Forums after forums are being made in several areas in Mindanao and convenor groups are being organized as people show concerned on the power crisis that has been predicted to happen yet the government failed to address it. (with reports from PJTremedal, Mangagawang Media Ng Mindanao/BND-MisOC)