Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes faces off with Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez during the public hearing of the committee on energy at the Apo View Hotel to discuss the power crisis in Mindanao. EDGAR ARRO

THE GOVERNMENT will pour in P10 billion to address the power crisis in southern Philippines after President Gloria Arroyo signed yesterday afternoon the proclamation declaring Mindanao under state of calamity.

The fund will help against the power crisis and provides trigger or measures to address the calamity, |Sec. Jesus Dureza, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority, said when interviewed by a local TV station.

He said the President will meet with Cabinet officials, business leaders, power distributors and stakeholders to discuss the next moves on sourcing quick generation capacities for a short-term solution to the crisis.

Dureza warned that power rates will likely increase because new power plants will be run by coal or oil. Over half of Mindanaos power is sourced from hydro power plants but the dry spell reduced that capacity to only 10 percent.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez yesterday said the financial assistance will be taken from the P60 billion unprogrammed funds of the executive department. Unprogrammed funds or special purpose funds refer to standby appropriations that are released on the discretion of the President, although its release is dependent on surplus in revenue collection targets.

Rodriguez, who co-chairs the House committee on energy, said they will move to invoke Sec. 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act and amend the law itself to better address the power lack. Sec. 71 gives authority to Congress to increase power capacity if the President assessed the urgent need to do so.

The energy committee, also chaired by Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Mikey Arroyo, conducted a public hearing at the Apo View Hotel to discuss possible solutions to the problem. Rodriguez said P4.5 Billion will be allocated for the damaged crops due to El Nio, P5.5 billion pesos for lease of power barges to generate additional power.

One of the measures suggested during the public hearing is to relocate power barges, or floating facilities, from Luzon to Mindanao to augment the deficit, which now stands at 700 megawatts, according to the data from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

Joseph Nocos, vice president for business development of the Conan Holdings Inc., said the end of El

Nio in June does not automatically mean the power problem of Mindana is over. The water level of Agus and Pulangi will likely normalize by October.

He added that the repair of power plants will entail huge investments, with around P12 million for each engine for a plant with a mileage of 16,000 hours.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, on the other hand, identified three problems that served as hindrance to crafting solutions for the power crisis: one is the constraints spelled out in the EPIRA which prohibits government into entering new contracts with independent power producers; theres also the lack of power investors due to bureaucracy; and antiquated power plants resulting to frequent breakdowns.

Source: www.mindanaotimes.net

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