Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) — The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has asked for three weeks to give “concrete” solutions to the energy crisis that has plagued Occidental Mindoro.
The time frame was the result of a meeting on Sunday between NEA Administrator Antonio Almeda and Sen. Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy.
“Sa ibinigay na briefing ni [Administrator] Almeda sa akin, hiniling niya na bigyan siya ng hanggang tatlong linggo mula ngayon para makapagbigay sila ng konkretong solusyon sa problemang ito,” Tulfo said.
[Translation: In the briefing Administrator Almeda gave me, he asked to be given up to three weeks from now for them to give concrete solutions to this problem.]
Tulfo also said he already called Malacañang to set an appointment with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to discuss how the Senate could help.
According to the senator, the NEA has undertaken the following measures to address the issue:
— requested a Certificate of Exemption (COE) from the Department of Energy (DOE) to allow Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative Inc. (OMECO) to enter into the Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) to secure modular generation sets from Singapore that can generate up to 17 megawatts;
— asked for the transfer of four modular generation sets with 2 megawatts each from Mindanao used in the 2013-2014 emergency power crisis in the island;
— asked DMCI Power Corp. to provide around 5 megawatts of electricity from Oriental Mindoro to Occidental Mindoro, giving four hours of electricity per day;
— along with DOE, requested the Department of Finance (DOF) to remove the restriction on the next loan secured by the National Power Corporation (NPC) that could be used for the entire missionary electrification areas;
“Notably, in the current policy, the NPC cannot use the loan they get in areas already covered by private power providers that supply electricity, like with OMECO, which is no longer included in the Small Power Utility Group (SPUG) areas of the NPC. SPUG refers to areas where NPC remains the power provider,” Tulfo said.
— asked the NPC to operate its old and unused plant which will be renovated to generate up to 10 megawatts of electricity.
According to Tulfo, it was discussed in an April 5 meeting that the OMECO will make a board resolution which would enable the NEA to loan the power supplier P50 million to buy bunker fuel as a temporary immediate solution.
Occidental Mindoro is under a state of calamity due to power outages of 16 to 20 hours every day. In early April, classes were suspended for three days because of the supply shortages.
Occidental Mindoro Gov. Eduardo Gadiano called on Marcos on April 19, pressuring him to fulfill his campaign promise to end the power crisis.
READ: Occidental Mindoro appeals for gov’t, Marcos action to end power crisis
