Power producers behind crisis, says lawmaker

A lawmaker has accused power producers of inducing a supply shortage in Mindanao to boost their profits.

“The shortage is man-made, [created] by unscrupulous profiteers,” Trade Union Congress Party Representative Democrito Mendoza said in a statement Sunday. “They know that if there is a shortage then that will help pressure consumers to accept solutions based on high-cost power. Presto, more profits for the [power companies].”

Mendoza accused the power producers of “deliberately not investing” in additional capacity within the franchise areas controlled by their sister distribution companies and independent cooperatives. The purpose, he said, is to cause a supply shortage.

Exacerbating the problem is the government’s dithering on the power situation in Mindanao, Mendoza said.

Earlier, Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez criticized Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras for not acting on the warnings of Mindanao lawmakers, businessmen and residents since 2010 of an impending power shortfall on the island.

Rodriguez said Almendras could have averted or minimized the estimated supply deficit of 180 megawatts to 400 MW had he pursued recommendations to dredge the Agus and Pulangui rivers to boost hydropower capacity; repair four state-owned barges in the region, and reopen a diesel power plant in Iligan City.

Rodriguez, however, stopped short of saying if Almendras’ inaction was meant to benefit private enterprises, which would be able to charge higher rates should a power crisis hit the region.

Mendoza called the situation in Mindanao “a conspiracy” between the state and private enterprises to force the people of the island to accept high power rates.

He pointed out that the government privatized two power barges in the region two years ago, but the electric cooperatives refused to buy power from the new owners because of their higher rate: P15 per kilowatt-hour, four to five times the normal rate.

Also on Sunday, Bayan Muna party-list Representative Teodoro Casiño said the private power companies connived with government officials to get contracts that allowed the high power rates. The public is still suffering from those “onerous contracts,” he said.