Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) — A resolution seeking to look into possible solutions to end the power crisis in Occidental Mindoro was filed in the Senate.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday filed Senate Resolution No. 576, which directs an appropriate committee to conduct an \”inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the short, medium, and long-term solutions to end the power supply crisis in the province of Occidental Mindoro.\”
\”Despite all the announced efforts of various government agencies, the power crisis in Occidental Mindoro has been ongoing for years with no end in sight,\” Gatchalian said in his resolution.
According to the lawmaker, the latest supply and demand outlook of Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative Inc. (Omeco) shows a power supply deficit in the area of around 15 megawatts throughout the day.
\”Due to the power supply deficit, Omeco has been announcing a daily rotational power schedule in the province, with a cluster of towns only getting electricity for three and a half hours in a day,\” he said.
Occidental Mindoro was placed under a state of calamity last week due to power outages that last 16-20 hours every day.
This prompted the local government to seek help from the national government and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who, in his election campaign, promised to end the energy crisis in the province.
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Governor Eduardo Gadiano also announced that effective Monday, April 24, government offices in the province are only open from Mondays to Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., as a “strategy” to help reduce power consumption amid limited supply.
He clarified, however, that those providing frontline services are not covered by this “compressed workweek arrangement.”
Gadiano said among those exempted are public hospitals, security units, provincial jail, and Management Information System Division of the provincial government.
‘Management issue’
In a media briefing, Gatchalian said Omeco’s management is also responsible for the energy crisis.
“For me, it’s a management issue. Importante ang management, gumalaw din. Hindi pwedeng iasa lahat sa gobyerno. Alam naman natin ang kuryente naka-devolve na iyan sa mga [electric cooperative] so dapat sila ang gumawa ng mga solutions,” he said.
[Translation: For me, it’s a management issue. It is important that the management should also act on this. It shouldn’t rely on the government. We all know that power to act on electricity concerns is delegated to electric cooperatives, so they should look for solutions.]
Omeco has blamed the alleged red tape in National Power Corporation (Napocor) and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the energy crisis in the province.
As an immediate solution to the power crisis, Gatchalian proposed to temporarily augment electricity sources in Occidental Mindoro through generation units from Napocor.
He also suggested that Omeco submit a power supply agreement to the ERC to contract a supplier under an emergency purchase.
