State of Power Industry or Do WE Have Enough Supply?
David Celestra Tan, MSK
25 March 2018
There is a high profile and obviously high budget media campaign going on to condition the people’s minds that the country needs more and newer power plants. This is amidst the stall in the approval of Meralco’s 3,551mw of coal plants that they negotiated with five (5) companies all controlled by sister Meralco PowerGen or MGen under the midnight loophole created by the ERC In March 2016.
(The inexplicable postponement of the CSP policy by the ERC caused the suspension of the five ERC Commissioners for unduly favoring Meralco and betrayal of public trust. There is now a tug of war in the judicial system over the suspension)
A few months ago CNN Philippines ran a special on the power industry titled “Do we have enough power supply”? We have no argument against the need for more supply and the need to build new ones to meet the country’s growing energy needs.
Just today I chanced upon a broadcast again on CNN about the “State of the Power Industry”, anchored by Ms. Pia Hontiveros. Featured panelists were Mr. Rogelio Singson, new President of Meralco PowerGen, Sen. Win Gatchalian, Chairman of Senate Energy Committee, Ms. Mylene Capongcol of the DOE, and Atty. Victor Dimagiba of an organization called “Laban Konsyumer”.
Mr. Singson went to great lengths to point out that the country needs newer power plants. That 33% of the country’s power plants are 25 years and older. That the DOE is requiring that the country raise its reserve capacity from the current 15% to 30%. That the country needs dependable and cost efficient base load supply which is coal.
The young and eloquent Sen. Win Gatchalian chimed in that there is too much redtape in getting projects approved and that it takes up to seven (7) years to get a plant to operation. He said there is a bill to legislate the one-stop processing of these approvals so plants can be built within four to five years. It was great to hear the prodigious Senator enunciate that the country needs a balanced approach to power supply and must consider assurance of supply, lower cost of power, and cleaner energy. He pointed out the need for the country to have true competition so everyone can compete.
When Mr. Singson had the chance, he could not help himself but to plug for the approval of the 1,200mw “super critical” power project in Atimonan. He mentioned about the 455mw expansion in Mauban is almost complete but that the 600mw Peninsula power project had taken more than 10 years to get the approvals. He even mentioned that the high cost of power in the country have driven industries to go to other countries.
DOE Veteran Ms. Mylene Capongcol and new consumer advocate Atty. VicDimagiba spoke about their take on the state of the power industry.
In general we have no argument about most of what was said. Our problem is in what was not said in the state of true competition in the power generation sector, its cartelization by Meralco, the adverse impact on the Filipino consumers and the industrial competitiveness of the country. There cannot be a fair discussion of the State of the Power Industry without addressing these anomalies.
It seemed the CNN specials were designed to hammer into the minds of the people that we need additional and newer coal power plants so that when the seven (7) midnight contracts of MGen and Meralco, and the effective cartelization of power generation, are magically approved despite the deviant process, that the people will not resist and even say thank you.
That’s exactly the problem. We are only being told that we need additional power plants. But there is no argument there. The issue is the process and the lack of consumer protection in the process of contracting those power plants. In ERC’s case, the fact that they apparently facilitated the circumvention of the CSP rules and the consequent denial of competitive power to the consumers.
Do you know that the costs of those expensive media campaigns ironically are paid for by the Meralco consumers through the operating budget approved by the ERC? Life isn’t fair is it?
State of the Power Industry or Do we have enough supply? What was the real point for the consumers?
MatuwidnaSingilsaKuryente Consumer Alliance Inc.
matuwid.org
david.mskorg@yahoo.com
