NGO scores Enrile on power issue

A non-government organization scored yesterday former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile for proposing amendments to the two-year Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) "based on wrong facts and without looking at the real intents of the law."

"Senator Enrile seemed to have gotten his facts wrong. I believe that he should stop barking up the wrong tree as this only compounds the problems already plaguing the country," the Foundation for National Development (FND) said.

Enrile has alleged that distribution utilities can negotiate bilateral supply contracts and buy up to 90 percent of their electricity requirements from an affiliate. He claimed this will result in sweetheart deals and is therefore, anti-consumer.

FND chairman Antonio Hombrebueno pointed out, however, that the EPIRA provides that utilities can buy only up to 50 percent of their power requirement from their affiliate.

Section 45 (b) of the law states that "Distribution utilities may enter into bilateral power supply contracts subject to review by the Energy Regulatory Commission... for purposes of preventing market abuse between associated firms engaged in generation and distribution, no distribution utility shall be allowed to source from bilateral power supply contracts more than 50 percent of its total demand from an associated firm engaged in generation."

Hombrebueno said Enrile should study the EPIRA in its entirety to "appreciate the real intent of the law to balance both objectives of fostering competition and assuring we have enough electricity supply by continuously attracting investors to finance and build more power plants."

Hombrebueno said "isolating certain provisions of the EPIRA without fully understanding its true intent and spirit can only lead to a myopic and misguided view."

"Misinforming the public in this manner distracts us from the real issues we have to address," he added.

"Right now, the country is facing another power crisis. We need to attract new investments into the country as all projections by the government and the private sector show that we will be facing a power shortage in three to four years. That’s already shorter than the time it takes to put up new plants," Hombrebueno said.

He warned that raising unfounded fears of monopoly and unfavorable deals only heightens the uncertainty and unpredictability of the country’s investment climate.

He charged that Enrile and other critics of the EPIRA have already caused damage to the country. "It is time for more constructive action."

"We cannot afford to waste time on misguided accusations based on a weak understanding of the facts. We must not stand in the way of building our power industry that is so vital for national development. It is about time the government, regulators and the private sector get their act together and implement the EPIRA properly. Let’s give it a chance to work," Hombrebueno said.