Malacañang, DOE asked: Where’s the promise of stable power supply in 2023?

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Friday urged Malacañang and top officials of the Department of Energy (DOE) to address a “nationwide power crisis” which appears to be looming despite previous assurances of steady power supply in the country.

Hontiveros recalled that during the 2023 budget deliberations in the Senate last October, the senators were told that the power supply would remain sufficient and stable in 2023 and the regulatory issues pertaining to high rates were being addressed.

“Anyare na? 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,” said Hontiveros, who is also a member of the Senate energy committee.

(Why is the power problem getting worse, Mr. President? What happened to the promised stable supply and reasonable prices of electricity? It’s saddening that our fellow Filipinos are suffering from high electricity rates despite the frequent power interruptions.)

Hontiveros issued her remark after power outage hit the islands of Guimaras, Panay and Negros which followed the power interruptions in Occidental Mindoro and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“Mr. President, hindi puwedeng 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,” she said.

(Mr. President, we cannot rely on prayers to be the solution to our power woes. All the grids from Luzon, Visayas to Mindanao are not functioning well. There are yellow and red alerts raised in different provinces.)

“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,” she added.

(Mindoro is already burdened by the oil spill and now they are also experiencing power interruptions. We should not let our countrymen suffer from this especially now that we are in the midst of the summer season.)

Hontiveros emphasized that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s directive for the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to fix the problems in the Visayas power grid shows the extent of the power problem in the country.

She lamented the “seemingly muted response” from DOE officials including Secretary Raphael Lotilla at a time when policymakers and the public are waiting for actions on the issue.

“Nakapagtataka kung bakit mahina ata ang tugon ng DOE, kahit na maraming probinsiya na ang nakakaranas ng service interruptions,” she said.

She expressed support for any probe on the ongoing power woes in the country along with her own proposed measures and resolutions aimed at lowering power costs for consumers, as she stressed the need to provide immediate relief to Filipinos who suffer from power interruptions in the midst of summer.

Hontiveros, likewise, questioned the timing of Malacañang’s statement regarding a US-based firm’s interest in investing 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 said.

GMA News Online has reached out to Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil and the DOE but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.

Last Tuesday, the Presidential Communications Office said NuScale Power Corp. of Oregon is expected to invest $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion to provide 430MW in the country by 2031 following a meeting with Marcos.

Marcos said the country had a shortfall in power supply and NuScale's support would help address the problem.

“We need everything. We just have to have everything and this new technology is something,” Marcos said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News