Hontiveros asks Malacañang: Amid blackouts and outages, what happened to ‘assurances’ of stable power supply in 2023?

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday urged Malacañang to swiftly address the rising number of power outages throughout the country, as she called on top energy officials to explain why Filipinos are experiencing service interruptions despite assurances last year that the nation’s power supply would be stable in 2023.

The statement came after the islands of Guimaras, Panay, and Negros were hit by a series of blackouts last week – the latest of power woes affecting the Visayas grid. In Luzon, areas such as Occidental Mindoro have been enduring weeks of power outages – some of which have lasted as long as 20 hours per day – and the Manila International Airport itself suffered a power interruption that disrupted dozens of flights.

“Mr. President, hindi pwedeng dasal lang ang tugon ng pamahalaan sa problema sa kuryente. Lahat ng ating grid – mula Luzon, Visayas, at Mindanao – patay sindi ang serbisyo. May yellow at red alerts sa iba’t-ibang probinsya. Ang mga taga-Mindoro, apektado na nga ng oil spill, tinatanggalan pa ng kuryente. Hindi dapat pinapahirapan nang ganito ang taumbayan, lalo na sa gitna ng napakainit na summer season,” Hontiveros said.

According to Hontiveros, the nation’s top energy officials should explain why a “nationwide power crisis” appears to be looming despite many assurances last year that the country’s power supply was not in danger. “During the 2023 budget deliberations in the Senate last October, we were told that the power supply would remain sufficient and stable for this year and that regulatory issues pertaining to high rates were being addressed. Anyare na?,” Hontiveros asked.

“Why is the power problem getting worse, Mr. President? Ano na ang nangyari sa ipinangakong maasahang suplay at makatwirang presyo ng kuryente? Nakakalungkot na kahit saang lugar sa bansa tayo pumunta ngayon, malaking problema sa mga kababayan natin ang mahal na singil ng kuryente sa kabila ng palagiang blackout o brownout,” she added.

“Kitang kita sa mismong kilos ng Pangulo ang extent ng problema, dahil siya na mismo ang direktang nag-utos ngayon sa National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) na ayusin ang problema sa Visayas power grid,” Hontiveros noted.

Hontiveros then pointed out the “seemingly muted” response from energy officials like Department of Energy (DOE) Raphael Lotilla, at a time when policy makers and the public alike are waiting for updates and actions on this issue. “Nakapagtataka kung bakit mahina ata ang tugon ng DOE, kahit na maraming probinsiya na ang nakakaranas ng service interruptions,” she said.

Likewise, Hontiveros questioned the timing of statements from Malacañang in relation to private sector investments from the United States in nuclear power projects in the Philippines. “These projects will not be able to solve our immediate power woes, and – as I have said in the past – nuclear energy is a desperate and a terrible, false solution to our energy needs when compared to clean and indigenous renewable energy resources,” she stressed.

The senator said that she will support any new probe by the Senate Committee on Energy on the ongoing power woes across the country, along with her own proposed measures and resolutions aimed at lowering power costs for consumers, such as decreasing the recoverable rates on the cost of capital or WACC (transmission and distribution), removing VAT on system loss, optimal use of energy mix, and financing renewable energy use in the social housing sector.

“Let us do all we can to provide immediate relief to the energy needs of our kababayans. Tandaan natin na hindi biro ang mawalan ng kuryente sa gitna ng summer – kabuhayan at mismong kalusugan ng kababayan natin ang nakataya dito,” Hontiveros concluded. ### (PR)