Arroyo may be 'inclined' to declare power crisis in Mindanao

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may be “inclined" to approve Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes’ recommendation to declare a power crisis in Mindanao. If endorsed, Reyes’ proposal to call for “emergency powers" will permit Arroyo to enter into contracts to build power plants without public bidding. The President, who already received Reyes’ report and proposal, is waiting from inputs from Congress, Press Secretary Crispulo Icban Jr. said. The President is determined to solve the energy shortage in the country’s second-largest island, parts of which are suffering from half-day to full-day blackouts. “No actual approval [has been made] yet," said Icban, in an ambush interview at the farewell boodle fight hosted for outgoing Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita at the New Executive Building grounds. “She is inclined to fix that biggest problem which is in Mindanao. They are studying what other things must be declared first," he added. Earlier, Reyes proposed the declaration so that the government can be allowed to build power plants without public bidding, as indicated in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira). Section 71 of the law says that “[u]pon the determination by the President of the Philippines of an imminent shortage of the supply of electricity, Congress may authorize, through a joint resolution, the establishment of additional generating capacity under such terms and conditions as it may approve." In his proposal, Reyes said that the government could also lease or purchase generator sets (gensets) and barges or negotiate short-term power supply contracts to increase the generating capacity of Mindanao. Reyes’ measures include leasing or renting 180 megawatt gensets, running the Alsons Corp.’s 30-MW Iligan Diesel Power Plant 1 (IDPP), entering into an operation and maintenance agreement with Alsons Corp. for the 70MW IDPP2, and entering into a contract on an additional five MW from Southern Philippines Power Corp. (SPPC). SPPC is jointly owned by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Conal Holdings Corp., and Tomen Power Corp. of Singapore. These measures are expected to cost anywhere from P8 billion to P10 billion, Reyes said. The power situation in Mindanao has worsened, the Department of Energy reported after the El Niño phenomenon has cut water levels in dams, reducing their capabilities to produce electricity. An estimated 56 percent of Mindanao’s energy needs are sourced from hydroelectric plants. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV