EDITORIAL - Brownouts can kill businesses

How critical is the power supply in Cebu? This is definitely the question Cebuanos wanted to ask in line with the pestering power interruptions sweeping Metro Cebu and other parts of the province nowadays.  

Reports said the Visayan Electric Company was forced to implement rotating brownouts due to inadequate supply of power. Last Friday alone, the local power distributor experienced a 50-megawatt deficiency, rendering some barangays in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue without power for an hour.

With this situation, Cebuanos really have nothing to expect than a gloomy Christmas season.

In fact, sporadic brownouts will continue to hit Cebu well into the next year when the country holds another round of electoral exercises. Unless, of course, there is a remedy, the problem on brownouts might yet create fears on the credibility of the elections.    

Alarmed by the rotating power interruptions, Cebu fourth district Representative Benhur Salimbangon is seeking for a congressional investigation into the insufficient power situation in Cebu. The lawmaker said the present power outages in the province can only drive investors away aside from the fact that they are closing the door to future investments.

“It’s not good for business. The problem has to be addressed. In other countries, there is no such thing as brownouts,” the lawmaker said.  

There is no doubt this power shortage problem can take a heavy toll on Cebu’s bustling economy. In fact, the local business sector has complained that it has already lost millions to the recent power interruptions.     

Brownouts can certainly kill small businesses. That is because many of them do not really have generators that would allow them to continue their operations during long power interruptions.

The issue on the scarcity of power supply in Cebu had already surfaced several years ago. But efforts by the government and other power stakeholders to solve the problem remained slow.

Being the center of commerce outside Manila, Metro Cebu should have adequate supply of power. Otherwise it has no business boasting about being an investment-friendly metropolis.