The Department of Energy (DOE) should buckle down to work and address the power supply situation in the country before it gets worse.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, said the DOE should not pass the buck since it has the legal mandate and power to compel industry players to follow policies on energy security.
“The DOE sounds inutile by passing the blame. It’s their job to assure the public on the sufficiency of power supply,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
“The DOE is an agency that has the power to superviec and ensure that all private companies will follow the policies, rules and regulations to ensure continuous power supply,” Gatchalian stressed.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) had earlier warned of a possible thinning of power supply in Luzon this summer, which lawmakers fear could affect the conduct of the May 2022 national and local elections.
According to the NGCP, some power plants have extended their maintenance shutdowns this month, while the others decreased their committed output.
But the DOE downplayed NGCP’s forecast saying it does not yet see any issues which could affect the dry season and the upcoming elections.
“As a candidate, I become more concerned of what could happen in the upcoming polls because we all know that we have an automated election. Without any electricity, no machine can count our votes,” said Gatchalian, who is seeking a fresh term in the Senate in May 2022.
“The DOE has the power to make sure private power plants will comply with the NGCP. Those who refuse to comply can be penalized by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC),” he pointed out.
Gatchalian said the Senate energy panel will conduct an inquiry next month to scrutinize the plans and preparations of the DOE and other stakeholders for the May 2022 elections which will happen four months from now.
He noted that when the DOE announced in a virtual press conference in August last year that the Philippines will have no power interruption during the election period, the outlook did not consider the forced and unplanned outages and the declining Malampaya supply.
Yellow alerts were issued last January 10 and 11 after some generating units extended their maintenance shutdowns while others derated their committed generation output.