MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 28, 2013) – President Benigno Aquino said his government is working on a mechanism that will assist power distribution utilities to buy diesel-fed electric generating plants as an immediate stop-gap measure to the current energy crisis in the southern Philippines.
He said the Department of Energy presented a plan that details how the government could assist distribution utilities in purchasing generating sets and using diesel power plants are seen as the quickest remedy to the Mindanao power problem.
“With these plants the government could set these up in six months to one year. Yung one year kasama na doon ‘yung four months na procurement ng gobyerno. So we’re working on the mechanism para madala itong distribution utilities nitong mga generators na ito,” Aquino told reporters.
He said the government is working in an immediate solution that is lawful.
“Ang state of emergency will only help in terms of ‘yung baka mas mapadali ang procurement. Ngayon, ayaw naman nating madaliing sobra na baka magkaroon ng shortcut sa batas, tapos sasabihin ng COA (Commission on Audit) hindi pwede lahat ‘yan. Balik na naman tayo sa wala,” he said.
“Gusto lang natin from the start, ‘pag na-deploy ‘yan, talagang sumusunod sa lahat ng mga alituntunin, lahat ng patakaran, at lahat ng batas para ‘pag naranasan na ay hindi naman mawawala kaagad,” he added.
The government response is also intended to make sure that the upcoming elections will not be affected and all the voting precincts will have enough power to transmit all the election results, Aquino said.
But by 2015, when the permanent plants start to produce enough energy, the President said he expects the Mindanao power problem to go away.
It takes between three to four years to set up the power plants, he said noting the earliest target date is about 300 megawatts from coal-fired power plant by 2015. Similar other plants will also start going online after that until 2017, he explained.
Also augmenting the insufficiency of power in Mindanao is the Iligan diesel power plant, which has been operating and returning to its rated capacity, he said.
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