Group lauds Congress for junking PNoy's power proposal

MANILA, Philippines - A consumers' rights advocacy group on Monday welcomed the decision of the House Committee on Energy to junk the proposal granting emergency power to President Benigno Aquino III to enter into negotiated contract to rent or buy generating sets to address the looming power shortage.

 

In a statement, the People Opposed to unWarraned Electricity Rates (POWER) lauded the decision during the hearing at the House of Representatives on the matter.

 

"It was clear from the presentation of the Department of Energy (DOE) itself that the so-called shortage is actually just a thinning of the reserve requirement of 20 to 30 megawatts for two  weeks in the summer of 2015. There is no need for drastic emergency powers to address this situation," POWER convenor Teddy Casino said.

 

He estimated that the purchase of gensets as proposed by the DOE would cost taxpayers between P6 billion and P10 billion.

 

"The doomsday scenario painted by (DOE Secretary Jericho) Petilla is clearly unwarranted and is being stretched to justify the use of billions of taxpayers money to address a situation that is not supported by reality," Casino added.

 

The group is now calling on Congress to tackle proposals to amend or repeal the Electric Power Industry Reform Act to bring back the National Power Corporation's authority to build and run publicly owned power plant and avoid shortages in the future.