Residents, traders complain anew over power outage in NCotabato

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines  --- Residents and businessmen have reiterated their complaints over the power shortages in the province.

They are puzzled why the province is suffering from power shortages despite the presence of  two geothermal plants in its capital Kidapawan City at the foot of Mt. Apo.

Traders also complained why the province's  17 towns, and more than 40 barangays in Kidapawan City, are saddled by periodic, six-hour rotational brownouts when the two power plants produce more than enough electricity for local consumers.

The Cotabato Electric Cooperative (Cotelco) has been enforcing power load rotation since last week’s Mindanao-wide still unexplained blackout.

“The Mindanao grid has since remained on red alert status,” said Engineer Godofredo Homez, manager of Cotelco.

The two geothermal plants at Barangay Ilomavis in Kidapawan City are run by the private Energy Development Corp. (EDC), which prioritizes sale of power to large-scale buyers outside of North Cotabato.

There is an existing government rule that compels power facilities run by natural or renewable energy to provide electricity to consumers in host cities and provinces.

“We’re not even asking for our share, based on that regulation, for free. We’re buying it via Cotelco,” a senior member of the Kidapawan City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who asked not to be identified, told The Star.

Local officials have been seeking the intervention of President Benigno Aquino III and the Department of Energy on the issue, even before last week’s 10-hour total blackout in major Mindanao cities and provinces.

The city government of Kidapawan had earlier asked the DOE to compel the EDC to allocate 25 percent of  the two geothermal plants’ more than 100 megawatt daily output to local consumers, based on existing government rules.

“It’s so saddening to see these geothermal plants in our midst, and suffer sectional, rotational brownouts that stunt the socio-economic growth of North Cotabato and Kidapawan City,” said Moro grains trader Abdullah Samsudin. - John Unson