Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 29) — Electricity has returned to residents of Occidental Mindoro but the fight for power stability is not yet over.
CNN Philippines correspondent Daniza Fernandez contributed to this report.
Occidental Mindoro Vice Governor Anecita Diana Apigo-Tayag on Friday told CNN Philippines that the Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corporation (OMCPC), the sole power provider in the province, allegedly abused its monopoly in order to collect subsidies from the national government.
The vice governor made the statement after OMCPC was suddenly able to provide 32 megawatts (MW) for residents after giving them only four hours of electricity per day for over a month now.
“Isa sa magiging solusyon ay makapasok ang bagong provider. Bukas mag-o-operate sana yung PSI (Power Systems Inc.), ngayong araw biglang in-operate ng OMCPC lahat ng planta niya at pwede niya pala kaming pailawan,” Apigo-Tayag said.
“Ngayong araw ang binigay niya po ay 30, 32 MW at lahat kami ngayon ay may kuryente na,” she added.
[Translation: One solution for this is if a new provider enters. Tomorrow, PSI should have begun operations. Today, OMCPC suddenly opened all its plants, and they could actually provide power for all of us… They gave us 30, 32 MW and everyone suddenly has electricity.]
Apigo-Tayag was surprised as 32 megawatts of electricity is more than the province’s power demand.
“Hawak niya nga kami sa leeg,” she stressed. “Pinapatayan niya kami tuwing gusto niyang makuha ang gusto niya sa national government. Hindi ko po na-a-appreciate ‘yun. Ano kami walang value ang buhay namin?”
“Kailangan na naming malagpasan ‘yung sitwasyon namin ngayon na naka-monopolya sila,” the vice governor added. “Kailangang mag-diversify at magpapasok ng ibang power provider.”
[Translation: They are holding us by the neck. They shut our power off every time they want something from the national government. I don’t appreciate that. Does our life have no value? We need to overcome our situation where they monopolize power. Power needs to be diversified as a new provider should enter.]
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) said OMCPC had agreed to simultaneously operate three of its power plants — the 5 MW Sablayan plant, the 7 MW MAPSA plant, and the 20 MW SAMARICA plant — to address the power shortage.
This would cover the province’s peak demands, according to NEA Administrator Antonio Almeda.
The NEA and PSI also agreed to operate the latter’s San Jose power plant, providing residents of Occidental Mindoro with 5 to 6 megawatts of free additional power supply for two months — but at a reserve capacity.
A resolution seeking to look into possible solutions to end the power crisis in Occidental Mindoro was recently filed in the Senate.
The government also earlier said it is already looking into ways to resolve the problem.
