Powering Bagong Pilipinas

Sunday it was when I wrote my Bagong Pilipinas column and discussed my thoughts on the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

How long President Marcos will stand and speak as the nation listens remains to be seen as I write this. We will hear about the good stuff for sure.

History, after all, is written by the victors, so says Winston Churchill. In many ways that will hold true today. President Marcos will trumpet his administration’s gains and in fairness to Marcos 2.0, he will have some accomplishments to report.

But as one Cabinet official pointed out, the challenges are enormous. I agree. Our problems can’t be solved in a year, maybe not even in six years, but we must start laying the foundation for real and lasting reforms, not just rebranding. As a reader pointed out, this must be the kind of reforms that would really translate to better lives for Filipinos.

There are many issues that need to be addressed. Indeed the challenges seem insurmountable but today, I will put the spotlight on the country’s precarious power supply.

Will President Marcos discuss this in today’s SONA? I fervently hope he does.

In any case, there is an urgent need to address the country’s power situation. This is particularly important because the President has been wooing foreign investors to come to the country. Power is one factor they will look at, including supply and cost. Without reliable power, there won’t be enough new investments and consequently, not enough new jobs.

With the resurgence of the economy, some sectors, including the airlines, are already having a hard time coping. What about our power industry? More power supply would mean lower costs. Isn’t it a curious case that some power generators want to monopolize the industry so they can dictate prices?

Yellow alerts

For 2023, the Department of Energy (DOE) had projected 15 yellow alerts for the Luzon grid; the latest declaration was last July 11. Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, for his part, has said that our power supply is expected to remain stable in the next two to three years.

To ensure the continuous electricity supply in the country this year, Senator Joel Villanueva filed a resolution urging the committee on energy to conduct an inquiry on the DOE’s programs, projects and initiatives with regards to ensuring power supply.

Villanueva is right in saying that it is the policy of the State to ensure the quality, reliability, security and affordability of the supply of electricity, as well as protect the public interest from high rates and poor services of electric utilities and other power providers.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), operator of the country’s transmission grid, has warned that while summer may be over, peak demand in the Visayas will likely occur in September, which is 16.19 percent higher than the same period for 2022.

The power situation

According to DOE statistics, over 50 percent of installed capacity in the Philippines comes from power plants that are at least 20 years old. This means that if at least one old coal power plant bogs down, the Luzon grid will be placed on red alert, which could lead to power outages.

Clearly, as Sen. Villanueva said, the DOE needs to proactively anticipate and address possible power shortages and identify long-term strategies. These include proper maintenance of power plants and similar facilities.

What is the government doing to augment supply? How about efforts to reduce power cost?

Now if the problem is high electricity prices, then how can we bring down the cost of a significant portion of our electricity bills? Power generation accounts for 60 percent of our electricity cost and universal charge at around 20 percent. Transmission costs account for 3.5 percent.

And while we’re at it, we must also ask, how much have power generators invested to maintain their plants and avoid unscheduled shutdowns?

NGCP, for its part, has told regulators that it has poured in P300 billion in total investments from 2009 to 2022. Its completed projects include 3,729 circuit-kilometers of new transmission lines and 31,190 megavolt amperes substation capacity installations with 28 new substations. Prior to NGCP or from 2003 to 2008, investment for the transmission grid was at P33 billion.

Energy conservation

Something that the government has not highlighted as much as it should is energy conservation.

In all, there is a need for a holistic approach in strengthening the country’s power supply system.

We’ve already come a long way from the 90s era of rotating blackouts, caused by mismanagement and corruption in state-owned power companies. The privatization of our power industry is no doubt a success story.

But it doesn’t end with privatization. The Marcos administration and every administration thereafter need to make sure that power generators are able to deliver on their promises. Stiffer penalties must be slapped on those that fail to fulfill their mandate.

Unfortunately, the favorite whipping boy is NGCP; sometimes it”s the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) but in reality, the problem usually has to do with supply.

At the end of the day, what is there to transmit and distribute if there isn’t enough supply?

As I said last Sunday, Bagong Pilipinas – why not? But fundamental changes need to happen to really usher in a new era for our country and reforms in the power industry must be among those changes.

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Email:  [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.