Congressional probe resumes on Napocor coal overpricing

The Joint Congressional Power Commission (Powercom) will resume hearings today to determine the “culprits” responsible for the overpriced purchase of coal by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) for its power plants.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, co-chairperson of Powercom, said the joint committee is also poised to review other questionable power deals, including the controversial bidding for the lucrative 25-year concession to run the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) which owns the government’s electric grid monopoly and the concluded sale of prime shares in the Philippine National Oil Co.–Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) to the Red Vulcan consortium.

“We have to find out (who the culprits are behind this overpriced coal supply deal),” Santiago said.

“We already have the scandal about the sale of the EDC which is meant to develop our indigenous energy resources. We already have the sale of Transco which has been criticized by the opposition; and now, we have this alleged coal overpricing. So there are three scandals that are going to be investigated on Thursday,” she said.

Santiago indicated the Powercom is interested in unmasking the officials behind the coal overprice because this would “reflect on the NPC rates” that would eventually be passed on to consumers.

“We also want to determine if there is criminal liability,” she added.

Sen. Miguel Zubiri, Powercom co-chairman, warned that “heads should roll in the NPC” for the overpriced coal.

Zubiri, principal author of the Biofuels Act, has been batting for the closure of aging coal-fired power plants to be replaced by renewable alternative energy sources.

The senators were reacting to the calls of Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III for a thorough investigation into the activities of what he called the Napocor “mafia” in derailing the full implementation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

The EPIRA law mandates early privatization of Napocor assets to allow open access in the energy market.

In a privileged speech, Guingona said Napocor continued to be a “milking cow” of the mafia at the state-run power agency.

“They procured 325,000 metric tons of coal at $81 per metric ton, when the prevailing world market price was only $49, or an overprice of $32 per ton,” Guingona said.

He said the total overprice amounted to $10.4 million, or P548 million at the prevailing exchange rate of P52.7 to the dollar in March-April.

Guingona pointed out that since it is a Napocor cost, the overprice would be passed on to consumers in terms of an increase in electricity rates.