11/04/2011
In 2009, amid looming water
and power shortages, alarm bells rang over the threat of El Nio to
Mindanaos hydro-electric plants. At that time, state holding firm Power
Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) sold off the
states Power Barges (PB) 117 and 118 to the Aboitiz group for $30
million.
Following Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) rules,
Aboitiz then submitted these to an independent third party appraiser
that established their fair market value or depreciated replacement
value (emphasis added) at an astounding $84 million the basis for the
ERCs approved setting of the companys rate base.
In 2010, the
power crisis that was feared by most came in full swing. Virtually
every quarter attributed it to El Nio. Cagayan de Oro power expert David
Tauli, however, maintained that the shortfall occurred because the
National Power Corp. (Napocor) issued a directive that wasted away the
energy it should have stored in Lake Lanao in order to help supply the
load in the next six months when there is low inflow to the lake.
Soon
after, other news sources pointed to overlapping maintenance schedules
as another major culprit.
At the opportune time, Aboitiz happened
to be ready with the much needed supply from PB 117 and 118, which it
had earlier bought from government but now at a cost three times
higher.
Many Mindanao NGOs, electricity consumer protection
advocates, businessmen, as well as House representatives stood up to
oppose the said transaction but to no avail. The series of decisions
Psalm took, i.e., ordering Napocor to deplete the dams, which created
the power crisis; the sweetheart sale of PB 117 and 118 to Aboitiz;
followed by the ERC manna that turned a $30-million investment to an
$84-million rate base in a few months, certainly spelled disaster for
Mindanao business and household consumers.
The troika of Psalm,
the private sector independent power producers (IPPs) and the ERC must
have found the game so easy that they are apparently trying a repeat of
the same 1-2-3 formula.
Last Oct. 28, a newspaper item entitled,
Red alert issued on Mindanao grid, said that the operator of the
countrys power transmission grid, the NGCP (National Grid Corp. of the
Philippines), had issued warnings of a generation deficiency caused by
(the) scheduled maintenance of some power plants and the unexpected
shutdown or reduced capacity of others.
Couldnt Psalm, Napocor and
the ERC, being the expert bodies charged with ensuring reliable and
least cost electricity to the entire country, have foreseen this? If
every year we, the public, are subjected to such sudden shocks of
electricity shortages, then obviously these agencies are being remiss in
their duties. Shouldnt they be subject to review, investigation and
complete overhaul?
Worse, such calamitous state of affairs only
gives rise to suspicions of a deliberate conspiracy to create a similar
situation as the 2010 power crisis in Mindanao.
Just four days
before that red alert was issued in the papers, I recall this piece
(Psalm to push through with sale of power plants) that said, (Psalm)
president and CEO Emmanuel Ledesma said in a phone interview that Psalm
will push through with the planned sale of four diesel-fired power
barges 101, 102, 103, and 104 by December concluding privatization
activities for the year.
I predict those four power barges will be
sold off at the same bargain basement prices (that PB 117 and 118 were)
to one or several of the usual power oligarchs who will quickly have
them appraised by independent appraisal agencies for thrice the amount,
which the ERC will then approve as the basis for setting very high
rates.
The destination of these power barges will again be
Mindanao as no such red alert exists for Luzon and other regions; so
poor Mindanao will once again be subsidizing the oligarchs entire
acquisition costs and more from consumers power rates.
Just as
some Mindanao solons did in 2010 opposing the sale of PB 117 and 118,
some of them are again standing up to oppose the sale of the four power
barges today. One of them, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, has threatened to
delay, if not stop, the sale as it would adversely affect Mindanao power
consumers. It still remains to be seen if they will be more successful
this time.
The nation is in rage over the blatant abuses
committed by the power oligarchs in cahoots with the Electric Power
Industry Reform Act (Epira)-mandated power privatization and regulatory
agencies.
In the past months, in addition to the usual anti-power
plunder advocates and NGOs, known business and labor federations have
also raised their voices. The latter two were even more aggressive,
maybe making up for lost time, and sent their complaints directly to
Malacaang.
Unfortunately, the Chief Executive never reared his
head to face the issue and had only his spokesman, that little
colegiala-ish know-nothing, to refer everyone back to the embodiment of
regulatory capture, the ERC.
Meanwhile, Napocor is set to add more
charges to our already bloated bill another P15 billion for the
missionary grid on top of the lifeline rate and Maximum Average
Price-translated rates favoring large industrial/commercial users, all
subsidized by us residential consumers.
But we shouldnt fret that
these government officials and agencies are taking no heed of the pleas
and plaints of the people. The rage will only grow and the final
outburst, only greater.
Just this past week, a large nationwide
lay organization already reached out to the electricity consumer
protection movement to extend its hand in solidarity. This is one clear
sign that the groundswell against the electricity plunder and abuse
continues to grow; which can only mean that the outcome will be a
tectonic shock strong enough to change the Philippine political-economic
landscape.
(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino/Radyo OpinYon, Monday to
Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Saturday, 8:15 to 9
p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8; visit
http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio
archives)
(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel)
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL:
http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111104com5.html
