Lanao del Norte coops oppose privatization of hydroelectric plants

TUBOD, Lanao del Norte — More than 65,000 power consumers in Lanao del Norte province strongly opposed the government's move to privatize two hydroelectric power plants which have a combined generating capacity of 980 megawatts and supply a majority of power in Mindanao. During the 35th Annual General Assembly and 39th founding anniversary of Lanao del Norte Electric Cooperative Inc. (LANECO) at the Mindanao Civic Center on Sunday, the collective passed a resolution urging President Benigno Aquino III to defer the sale of the Agus and Pulangui hydroelectric power plants in Mindanao. Section 47 of the Energy Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) states that 10 years after the EPIRA has passed into law, power assets may already be sold to private investors. This means that the Agus and Pulangui hydroelectric plants may be privatized by June 2011. LANECO general manager Resnol Torres said that the 33 Mindanao electric cooperatives under the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperative (AMRECO), as well as other power sector coalitions, have been working to oppose the privatization of hydroelectric plants in Mindanao. Mindanao has the cheapest power rates as compared to Luzon and Visayas, making the country’s second largest island very attractive to local and foreign investors, Torres said. In a Joint Congressional Power Committee forum held in Cagayan de Oro on May 13, Batanes Rep. Henidina Abad — who chairs the House Committee on Energy — and Senator Francis Escudero expressed their openness for another 10 years to defer the sale of Agus and Pulangui plants to private power investors, recognizing that their privatization could severely and directly affect ordinary power consumers. House energy committee vice chair and Iligan City Rep. Vicente Belmonte said that the lower house has already passed House Resolution 77 urging the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) to defer the sale and privatization of the Agus and Pulangui Hydro Electric Power Plant complexes in Mindanao. Meanwhile, Agakhan Sharief, a member of a Local Monitoring Team representing the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur, said “I will refer this critical issue to the MILF Central Committee for discussion considering that Lake Lanao, which provides the power source in Mindanao, is within our ancestral domain." “Personally I am strongly opposed to the privatization move of [hydro electric power plants] which supply more than 50 percent of the power source in Mindanao," Shareif said. — MRT/VS, GMA News