Energy, not complacency

At the World Economic Forum on East Asia held here in Manila, a great concern among potential investors centered on the country’s uncertain energy situation. While we are gaining headway as the new darling of investors because of the country’s economic resilience despite the global financial crisis, the Philippines needs to play catch up as far as foreign direct investments are concerned. Obviously, the specter of frequent power outages is not good at all for business as it will dampen investor enthusiasm.

In Mindanao, businessmen are losing millions by the hour due to the energy problem that has been going on for four years, with the power supply shortfall exacerbated by the onset of the El Niño phenomenon since the region relies heavily on hydro as a major source of energy. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has projected that the El Niño may peak during the last quarter of 2014 and may be felt until the first quarter of 2015.

For sure, the onset of rains has brought some kind of relief, elevating the supply of water in the dams to normal levels, climate change has made weather patterns very erratic and so it would be the height of foolhardiness to rely on rains to provide a stable and reliable supply of power. PAGASA itself has admitted that El Niño is possible even with the onset of the rainy season. In 2008 when he was the Energy Secretary, the late Angelo Reyes warned about a looming energy crisis but nobody really paid much attention. In 2010, up to 12-hour brownouts hit Mindanao as hydropower plants went offline due to the critically low water levels – because of El Niño.

Mindanao shows a lot of promise, having been dubbed as the food basket because it accounts for 40 percent of the country’s food requirements. However, it could become a “basket case” if the concerns of potential investors regarding the energy problem are not addressed. Senator Ralph Recto, for one, has warned about the consequences of a prolonged dry spell – possibly the worst ever in 17 years – asking government about fallback plans in case hydroelectric dams run out of water that power turbines.

Obviously, government will have to rely on the efforts of the private sector to help address the energy supply shortfall given the increasing demand due to the growing population. One of the power industry players that has intensified efforts to ensure sufficient and reliable power supply for key areas in Mindanao is Alsons Consolidated Resources, the oldest electricity generator in the region – which comes as very opportune especially since among the eight provinces identified by the Department of Agriculture as “highly vulnerable” to El Niño include Sarangani and Zamboanga.

We’re told that Alsons is currently constructing its 210-MW Sarangani Energy Corp. coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani and currently operates the 100-MW Western Mindanao Power Corporation diesel-fired power plant in Sangali, Zamboanga. The company is working double time to complete the construction of the SEC plant to ensure that the coal plant is on target to supply its first 110-MW facility to major electricity distribution utilities in Mindanao when it goes online by September next year, with no less than Alsons Power chairman Tommy Alcantara flying to Japan to inspect for himself the state-of-the-art turbine for the Sarangani power plant. 

The company is also developing the San Ramon coal-fired power plant in Talisayan, Zamboanga City, with plans to beef up the company’s total capacity to 590-MW by 2019 and hopefully, raise it to a combined capacity of 1,000-MW by the end of the decade. Government, in particular the Energy Department under Secretary Jericho Petilla, cannot afford to be complacent because it’s the people who feel the brunt of a tight power situation with rotating brownouts not only in Mindanao, but now starting to hit some parts of Luzon and Metro Manila. Certainly, what the people need is energy, not complacency.

Serge Osmeña has a point

Many people certainly think Senator Serge Osmeña has a point in thumbing down the confirmation of Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla – the only one left out by the Commission of Appointments on the last day of session before Congress adjourned. In an interview, Serge censured the government for its (mis)handling of the energy problem, warning about widespread brownouts in Metro Manila and Luzon next year which the current administration cannot blame on its predecessor. 

Osmeña, an Aquino ally, lamented government’s lack of foresight in managing the problem, saying not much was done to help out investors willing to put up new power plants that would increase power generation and augment thin power reserves. It takes billions of pesos and about four to five years to construct a power plant and make it operational, but slow approvals have also been the cause of delays. Now everyone knows why the Senator also delayed the confirmation hearing for Secretary Petilla. 

Secretary Kiko Pangilinan at MOPC

Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan will be the guest speaker at the Manila Overseas Press Club’s (MOPC) “Agriculture Forum” at the Hotel Intercon this Friday. Media people are invited to attend the forum where the food security czar is expected to discuss serious issues affecting the agriculture industry. One of these is the massive coconut scale infestation that has killed millions of coconut trees in the Calabarzon area and is starting to spread to Bicol and Mindanao.

Another is the enormous increase in the price of rice, ginger and garlic with the latter having become “unreachable” to ordinary Filipinos at P350 a kilo – much more expensive than meat and poultry. Secretary Kiko visited several markets yesterday to see for himself what’s happening and how these problems impact the ordinary Filipino. For details on the Agriculture forum, contact the MOPC Secretariat (Dena) at (02) 994-6738.

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