Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario
conveyed the governors’ stand to the President during the summit and reiterated
last Tuesday that the governors’ position will not change.
Two major hydroelectric plants—Agus and
Pulangi—would be sold to the private sector under the Electric Power Industry
Reform Act (Epira). Mr. Aquino, during the summit, said this was part of the
solution to Mindanao’s power crisis.
On Tuesday, the governors reiterated their
opposition to the sale and insisted that amendments to Epira were among the
ways out of the crisis.
The governors reiterated their position a day
after the President said he was willing to dialogue further with Mindanao
officials, civil society and consumer groups on the power crisis.
“Let’s shatter the myth that the Napocor
(National Power Corp.) and the Agus-Pulangi complex are a losing proposition,”
Del Rosario said.
If it is any indication that generating power
is not a losing venture for government, Del Rosario presented what he said was
Napocor’s income last year—P36.9 billion in annual gross generation revenue and
an average profit margin of P73.2 billion.
Surigao del Sur Gov. Johnny Pimentel said
instead of selling the power plants, the government should rehabilitate these,
which is what exactly government plans to do with Agus 6 and Pulangi which
might cost P9 billion and take 30 months.
Agusan del Sur Gov. Eddiebong Plaza said
selling the two hydropower plants could lead to unreasonable rates and
monopoly.
Agusan del Norte Gov. Erlpe John Amante said
higher power costs would simply stop investments from coming to Mindanao.
“Privatizing the power plants, which
currently provide us a cheaper source of power, would remove Mindanao’s advantage
to attract more investments,” Amante said.
South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy said the
governors are sticking to their position opposing the sale of the hydropower
plants.
North Cotabato Gov. Lala Taliño-Mendoza said
she was hoping the President would listen to them.
“We wish he (Mr. Aquino) would take a second
look at our resolution,” Mendoza said.
Davao del Sur Gov. Douglas Cagas agreed,
saying: “He already heard the sentiments of the people of Mindanao during the
summit. Although he has the power to exercise as President, he must also review
our resolution.”
Del Rosario said Napocor should rescind its
Operational Management Agreement with the Power Sector Assets and
Liabilities Management (PSALM), which required Napocor to remit all its
earnings to PSALM, including those from the Agus and Pulangui hydropower
plants.
“It is high time that Napocor rescind this
contract and be allowed to run its affairs,” Del Rosario said.
He said Epira has been a bane to Mindanao for
the last 11 years and should be reviewed by Congress.
He said selling the hydropower plants to the
private sector would simply worsen the situation.
“It is bad enough as it is. It will be
intolerable once it is surrendered to the private sector,” he said.
Del Rosario also called for the reclassification
of power generation firms as “utilities” and place a cap on these firms’
profits. He said some independent power producers earn up to 50-percent
return on rate base, “which is too much.”
“Just a 1-centavo per kilowatt-hour increase
imposed nationally translates into a P670-million annual income,” said the
governor, adding it was time for Mr. Aquino to appoint a Mindanao consumer
group representative to the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno said one
good thing that the summit brought was to open the lines of communication
between the people of Mindanao and officials who have the power to decide the
future of the island’s electric supply.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/178899/govs-defy-aquino-on-power-plant-sale
Conclusion
Upon reading this news myself I also have favored the decisions of the governors are for the best, selling the power plants will only lead to higher living expense here in Mindanao.(which its already is) It may be a great opportunity for the private sectors but at a great trade-off of higher electricity bills for the citizens. not only to the citizens but also on the business firms will be greatly affected for the further increase of the electricity bills.
As the president of this country (Mr. Aquino) should take responsibility on resolving this economical problem we are experiencing here in Mindanao without the involvement of political propaganda and self-interest in-mind, for the prosperity of Mindanao and the entire country.
Try to deal with some specific issues in your article. Expound more on issues like how are you affected by it? etc.
ReplyDeletegrade: 81%
This hydro electric plants absolutely generate income. The government is not honest in saying privatization in the solution in the power crisis in Mindanao. There is an annual power plan in the philippines to built a power plant to deal with annual increase increasei n demand of electricity but they did not implement it. Only Cronies of the government will benefit in the privatization not the filipino people. Because of the EPIRA law price of electricity of IPP cannot be controlled by the government. And the EPIRA law does not allow NAPOCOR to built new plants. I commend Gov. Rosario for his stand.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that NAPOCOR bankrupted because the government at that time during the power crisis force NAPOCOR to buy electricity at gov't cronies IPP at a very high price and then to sell it to the public at very low price just to make the government look good! The government promise that the price of electricity will go down if EPIRA is created. But turns out to be the other way around only. The Politician's relative and IPP owner are the only ones benefited in the creation of EPIRA.
ReplyDelete