Electricity consumer group Power for People Coalition (P4P) has again criticized Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who it described as more preoccupied with political intramurals than his supposed main function with the agency.
"Tila baga siya ay napaka-busy ngayon sa pampulitikang usapin na naiiwan 'yung mga mahahalagang usapin sa power industry (It seems that he is too busy with political issues that important issues in the power industry are being neglected)," P4P Convenor Gerry Arances said on Monday, July 19 during a virtual power consumers' assembly.
Arances went as far to say that it might be better for Cusi to just leave the energy department if he continues to be remiss with his duties.
"If DOE doesn't shape up...kami po ay mananawagan, na kung si Secretary Cusi ay nagwagi doon sa pagpapatalsik noong kanilang mga opisyales sa kanilang partido, malinaw po na baka manawagan ang mga electric consumers na dapat umalis na po siya sa DOE (while Secretary Cusi has been successful in booting out officials from their parties, we may call on him to just leave the DOE)," he said.
Cusi is a leader of ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). He had just been installed as party president, replacing Senator Manny Pacquiao in what has been a messy falling out between high-ranking members of the group ahead of the May 2022 national polls.
Arances blamed what he called the "manufactured power crisis" particularly during the peak months of April, May, June, and July for the thinning of power reserves in the Luzon grid, which resulted to higher power rates.
"Sa bahagi po ng Meralco franchise area, a total of 50 cents na sa apat na buwan na sunod-sunod na nagtataas ng kuryente ang Meralco. Ito po 'yung period kung saan nakaranas ng thinning reserves, ng yellow alerts ang buong Luzon (In the Meralco franchise area, a total of 50 cents per kWh has been added to the cost of electricity from Meralco. This was the period of thinning reserves, of yellow alerts in the entire Luzon)," he said.
The P4P convenor noted that Luzon again slipped into yellow alert last week due to simultaneous unplanned outages from four power plants. Unplanned outages aren't scheduled, meaning the grid operator cannot prepare in advance for the drop in power capacity.
Arances specifically identified two coal-fired power plants--the 600-megawatt (MW) GN Power Mariveles plant in Mariveles, Bataan and the 300-MW DMCI power plant in Calaca, Batangas--as having gone way over the limit of allowed days for unplanned outages, which is only 16 days.
"Umabot na sa mahigit na limang buwan noong panahon na nag-rotating brownouts itong dalawang planta na ito (These two plants haven't run in the last five months since the rotating brownouts began)," he noted.
Arances slammed the DOE and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for failing to penalize such plants that aren't able to produce the power that they are obligated to produce. "Wala man lang reprimand (There's not even a reprimand)."
He insists the country has enough power plants to meet the electricity supply, but this is only true if all power plants are functioning. And he warned that things could get worse before they get better.
"Sa October po, magme-maintenance shutdown ang buong Malampaya facility. Ang ibig sabihin po niyan, mawawala po ang more than 3.5 gigawatts na kuryente dahil wala pong supply na maibibigay (The entire Malampaya facility will shut down in October. This means that the supply side will lose 3.5 gigawatts of electricity).
"Imaginin po natin 'yan. Kung ganito na ang problema natin ngayon sa supply at hindi nareresolba ng DOE under their nose...baka hindi lang po ito 'yung maranasan natin na pagtaas nang presyo ng kuryente (Let's imagine that. If we're already having these problems with supply under the DOE's nose and they are not being resolved...we may experience more power price hikes)," Arances said.
He further said: "Kailangan po nating usigin 'yung mga nasa poder, 'yung mga nasa gobyerno, mga public officials na batay sa batas sila ay mandated to protect and uphold the rights of the electric consumers to least cost. At hindi po ito 'yung nakikita namin na ginagawa ng mga nasa DOE at ERC (We need to hold accountable those in power, in government, the public officials who are mandated to protect and uphold the rights of the electric consumers to least cost. This isn't what we are seeing from the DOE and ERC)."