Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, April 23 urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to deliver a lastong solution to the recurrent power outages hitting the country during summer season.

Hontiveros made the call as electricity demand increased during the summer months and forced the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to issue red and yellow alert status when demand exceeded available supply.

“We’ve had enough. Paulit-ulit ang pagkukulang ng NGCP. Ang kuryente, pampagaan yan ng buhay, hindi pampabigat. Kailangan na natin ng isang totoo at sustainable na solusyon sa harap ng sabay-sabay na outages ng mahigit 20 planta (The NGCP has repeatedly failed. Electricity makes life easier, not burdensome. We need a real and sustainable solution in the face of simultaneous outages of more than 20 plants),” Hontiveros said.

Only recently, the NGCP said a total of 2,325.8 megawatts (MW) of electricity is unavailable to the grid as of Saturday as 22 power plants are on forced outage while another is operating on limited capacity.

Often, the alerts are attributed to malfunctioning power plants and dwindling reserves.

But Hontiveros said the DOE should provide better explanation as consumers bear the brunt of rotational brownouts and higher electricity bills, the same as before.

The senator said the DOE ought to refrain from continuously shifting the burden of adjustment onto the public's shoulders.

“Nakakainit ng ulo. Sa halip na konsyumer ang sabihan ni Sec. Lotilla na magbawas ng konsumo kung kailan natin mas kailangan ng kuryente, mga energy officials muna ang maglabas ng matalinong plano (It's a headache. Energy officials should first come up with an intelligence plan instead of Sec. Raphael Lotilla telling consumers to lessen their consumption at a time when they need electricity). It's time for action, not just empty promises,” she pointed out.

“Paanong naging sabay-sabay yung mga outages ng mahigit 20 planta? At sasabihin lahat ng yun ay unplanned outages? Kung hindi nila yan maipaliwanag, hindi na rin nakakapagtaka na paikot-ikot at paulit-ulit ang problemang ito (How did the outages of more than 20 plants happen at the same time? And say that all of those are unplanned outages? If they can't explain that, it's no wonder that this problem keeps going again and again),” Hontiveros said.

The lawmaker said it is imperative for the DOE to come up with proactive measures and intelligent planning to address the persistent electricity challenges faced by the public.

“It's about time energy officials stopped dragging their feet. We deserve better than their endless excuses and half-baked explanations, and it’s time to hear innovative solutions to tackle these relentless power outages,” Hontiveros stressed.