Gov't urged to sack 16 Chinese experts in NGCP

A labor group claims that the Chinese experts working at the National Grid Corp.of the Philippines have installed fiber optics to the command and control of the entire grid without the appropriate franchise from Congress. 

MANILA, Philippines - The 16 Chinese experts working at the country’s National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) should be replaced by Filipino experts, labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines - Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) said on Monday.

The foreigners' Alien Employment Permit will expire on July 31.

"We have a very delicate situation rife with national security interest issue where a very critical and a very strategic government facility is in the hands of and controlled by foreigners. We would like to see this corrected as quickly as possible by having the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Labor and Employment ensure the immediate termination of their work permits immediately and not allow it renewed," TUCP-Nagkaisa executive director Louie Corral said.

He said the labor group expects DOE to ensure that operations manual for the NGCP has been translated into English from Chinese in time for the transition.

"It's scandalous and irresponsible for us to have allowed that the NGCP operations manual - the command and control of the entire electricity system - to be hostaged to a foreign language and hostaged to foreign experts," Corral said.

TUCP-Nagkaisa spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the labor group is also urging the Energy Regulatory Commission and the National Telecommunication Commission to conduct due diligence in the integrity of the entire NGCP transmission system.

"We received a reliable information alleging State Grid of China have installed fiber optics attached to the command and control of the entire grid without the appropriate franchise from the House of Representaives. This poses, we have a serious national security concern given the current state of play of China-Philippine relations," Tanjusay said.

The Philippines and China are now locked in an arbitration before a tribunal at The Hague, Netherlands in connection with West Philippine Sea dispute. - By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com)

Petilla won’t resign, vows to avert blackouts

MANILA, Philippines - Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has shrugged off a labor coalition’s call for him to resign, saying that he is committed to avert a looming power shortage in the summer of 2015.

“I won’t allow the blackouts to happen. I will do everything to fight it out because I know I am fighting for the people,” Petilla said in an interview.

He maintained that he did not deceive anyone when he said there would be a power shortage when he proposed to invoke Section 71 of the energy law last July to allow the government to tap additional power capacity through the purchase or lease of modular generator sets.

He explained that since he made the proposal in July and revealed the projected power situation next summer, additional capacity of some 437 megawatts was tapped.

“Before July, this did not exist. There was no 437 MW,” he said.

Petilla noted that President Aquino’s declaration of a state of emergency in the power sector summoned stakeholders and the private sector to cooperate and work together in finding solutions to the looming power woes.

A Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-led group called Nagkaisa has asked Aquino to fire Petilla for “deceiving the Filipino people with his manufactured power shortage scenario hitting the entire island of Luzon early 2015.”

The group said Petilla painted a wrong picture to justify the call for emergency powers.

“Secretary Petilla took the country for a ride. He bluffed the President, the Cabinet, the senators and congressmen, the business sector, the labor and consumer groups with his tall tales of thin power reserves to justify emergency powers that entail possible purchase of multibillion-peso generator sets,” Nagkaisa said in a statement.

But Petilla maintained that the power situation in the summer of 2015 is still critical with the shortage still at 700 MW, taking into account the need for reserves of 647 MW, which is the size of Sual, the biggest plant in Luzon.

“When it comes to power, supply and reserves go hand in hand,” he said.

The additional 447 MW will come from the First Gen Corp.’s Avion plant with 100 MW by April 2015, 36 MW from the upgrading of Millennium Energy’s Limay plant to be ready by March 2015, 20 MW as a result of the rehabilitation of the Bauang plant by March 2015, 10 MW from Petron’s Bataan plant to be ready by December 2014, 60 MW from JG Summit’s Batangas plant for commissioning in January 2015 and 20 MW from the Botocan hydroelectric plant in Laguna for completion in December 2014 for a sub-total of 246 MW.

The balance is estimated to come from participants of the interruptible load program. Under the ILP, big power users would use their own power to ease pressure on the grid.

Petilla said that while this is a good development, there is no guarantee that the committed capacities would come as expected and run smoothly.

“These are all photo finish. We don’t have control over this if something goes wrong, so it is very prudent for the government to have reserves,” he added. – By Iris Gonzales (The Philippine Star) With Mayen Jaymalin

Blackouts could cost economy P23B – Aquino

IF an anticipated drop in power supply is not immediately solved and blackouts will occur next year, the cost to the economy could be as high as P23 billion, President Benigno Aquino 3rd warned on Wednesday.

Citing government estimates, Aquino said the economic cost of the feared power outages could reach a minimum of P9.3 billion to as high as P23.3 billion, excluding foregone revenues in sectors that will be affected by brownouts.

“[It depends] on the duration of the power outage. The lower figure [P9.3 billion] assumes power outage of two hours a day on average for three months. The higher figure [P23.3 billion] assumes a worse scenario of five hours a day also for three months,” the President noted during the Presidential Forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

This, he said, will likely dent the annual gross domestic product (GDP).

“The economic cost as estimated here pertains to output foregone, i.e. GDP loss from stoppage of economic activities. The estimate does not include foregone investment and tourist arrivals arising from the negative impact of the power outage on the country’s image as investment and tourist destinations,” Aquino added.

It is for these reasons, the President explained, that he had asked Congress for extra powers under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) to address the situation on a “worst-case scenario” perspective.

“If there is no power come our summer months, there will only be one party that will be blamed, and that will be the executive. So we were asking from them various powers, not emergency, but these are really embodied already in Epira—to address the situation if and when El Niño is really severe, the forced outages in the trend that they have shown in the past two years also continue, to address also the cannot-be-postponed Malampaya shutdown, among other things,” Aquino said.

Although there are several options that the government can take, renting generators for about two years is no longer being considered because setting these up would take about six months.

The President said the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) is a “plausible substitute” but these standby generators for the most part have never been considered as baseload plants.

“What’s the difference? Standby generator, you run for a few hours. These ILP producers, in effect, will have to produce on a very regular basis, perhaps on a daily basis, if and when the reserve situation is seriously jeopardized,” he also explained.

Aquino said the Energy department balked on running the Malaya plants because they are 30 years old and it would be costly to maintain both plants.

Meanwhile, 49 labor groups and workers’ organizations called on the President to fire Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla for “deceiving the Filipino people” by manufacturing a power-shortage scenario.

The workers’ group Nagkaisa (United) was reacting to revelations during a recent congressional hearing where Energy officials admitted that the projected deficit in supply in 2015 is only about 21 to 31 MW, a far cry from the 1,200 MW shortfall trumpeted by Petilla.

“It is now very clear to us that Secretary Petilla took the country for a ride. He bluffed the President, the Cabinet and everyone with his tall tales of thin power reserves to justify emergency powers that entail possible purchase of multi-billion peso generator sets” Joshua Mata, a group convenor. said.

Another convenor, Louie Corral, executive director of Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa, said the government should have acted as early as 2011 to avert a power crisis by building new power plants and exercising strong regulatory powers to prevent market fraud.

“The only time we will support emergency powers is when the government finally decides to take over the whole industry with the utmost objective of bringing down the price and securing a sustainable power supply not only for present needs but also for the next generations to come,” Corral added. - by JOEL M. SY EGCO SENIOR REPORTER AND JING VILLAMENTE REPORTER Manila Times

Labor groups demand Petilla’s resignation

DOE Sec. Petilla, pinagbibitiw sa puwesto ng ilang labor group
GMA News Video

Related Article: Labor group wants Petilla’s head for deceiving the Filipino people bigtime over so-called power crisis

Power supply disclosure sought

A labor group on Wednesday challenged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and Department of Energy (DOE) to disclose their power supply data, saying that a lot of available power is being concealed amid allegations of an impending power shortage in 2015.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa said the ERC has not spoken about an impending power shortage in 2015, even as the DOE is all over the place announcing a 300 megawatt deficit that can climb to 800 megawatt.

“We stressed the importance of correct data in undertaking power policy. If DOE has incorrect data, then the wrong arguments are being advanced and that’s is why fale solutions which are very expensive such as gas turbines, power barges, and generator sets are now being prioritized,” the TUCP said in a statement.

TUCP-Nagkaisa said DOE’s proposal of contracting P12 billion of capacity—300 megawatt genset or power barge plus 300 megawatt reserve—would mean a 50-centavo per kilowatt hour increase to be borne by consumers nationwide for two years.

“We warned that an increase in the price of power is sure to create an inflationary domino effect. Power is not a “stand alone” issue,” the TUCP said.

“Take the matter of workers disposable incomes which are constantly being erode by high price of power. A 24-month period where power rates are jacked up by 50 centavos per kilowatt hour which does not yet factor in additional generation, transmission and distribution charges is sure to wreak havoc on the already meager salaries of workers. It will surely trigger an increase in the prices of basic goods and services, we will be left with no other response except to seek an increase in wages.” - By Vito Barcelo / Manila Standard

How much will emergency power cost electricity consumers?

What’s emergency power’s price tag?

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero raised this question yesterday as he said Malacañang should be transparent enough to identify the cost taxpayers would bear if Congress approves the measure granting President Aquino emergency powers to address a looming energy crisis.

“What’s the cost to taxpayers of this measure? Even if power contracted by the government will eventually be sold to distributors, and thus the acquisition cost will be recouped, we still would like to know the costs involved,” Escudero said in a statement.

Escudero said the Executive department should come clean and disclose what additional costs consumers would carry.

“How will it be financed? Even if it’s an off-budget transaction, the government has the duty to publicly disclose the details,” the senator said.

“What is the burden of this to the consumers? Will it entail additional costs to us? If it’s through the electric bill of consumers then government should tell them in advance,” Escudero pointed out.

“We have to protect the Filipino people. We have to be careful. We have to be very careful on what type of powers we extend to them. We want to make sure what price will be. I am expecting an energy price of P15 per kilowatt hour (kwh) and this might reach P20 kwh,” said Sen. Sergio R. Osmeña III, Senate Committee on Energy.

P6-B TO ADDRESS POWER CRISIS

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, House Committee on Energy chairman, said the government needs P6 billion to contract additional generating capacity to address the imminent power crisis in Luzon in the summer of 2015.

Umali said the P6 billion, which would likely be sourced out from Malampaya funds, would be used for the payment of the lease for a two-year period.

“If we lease it, we need a maximum amount of P1 billion per 100 megawatts per year. That’s the working figure we are looking at. So if we need to contract an additional generating capacity to address the projected 300-megawatt deficit, that would be P6 billion,” Umali told reporters during the weekly Ugnayan sa Batasan forum.

Escudero said that if the government will tap funds from the Malampaya natural gas project as fuel for the emergency powers, then it should publicly disclose how it would be done and the amount involved.

Escudero was referring to the government share with the Malampaya funds which will reach P34.5 billion next year, according to the 2015 national budget.

“If the government will tap funds from the Malampaya natural gas field as fuel for emergency powers, then it should tell us how it will be done and the amount involved,” Escudero said.

FORMAL REQUEST

In a letter dated September 12, 2014, President Aquino formally asked Congress to immediately enact the Joint Resolution that would allow his government to contract additional generating capacity to address the “imminent” power crisis in 2015.

The President’s request was signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.

“In accordance with Section 61 of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the ‘Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001,’ I hereby seek the immediate enactment of a Joint Resolution authorizing the President to establish additional generating capacity,” the President said in his letter to Congress.

“This authority is needed in order to address the imminent shortage of electric power for the summer of 2015 in Luzon,” he stressed.

But Senate President Franklin M. Drilon admitted that it would be impossible for the Upper Chamber to pass the Malacañang request before Congress goes on a three-week recess starting Sept. 26, considering the complicated issues and only four session days left.

“I think the Committee on Energy chaired by Senator Osmeña will meet Wednesday next week. Given all the complicated issues, we cannot rush this but we know the urgency. We will work on this,” Drilon added

‘CRITICAL ELECTRICITY SITUATION’

Aquino sought Congress approval in response to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) report and projection of a “critical electricity situation” in the summer of 2015 arising from, among others, the expected effects of the El Niño phenomenon, the 2015 Malampaya Turnaround, increased and continuing outages of power plants, and anticipated delays in the commissioning of committed power projects.

“There is no gainsaying that the imminent electric power shortage during these months is a real threat to the country’s growing economy and the general welfare of the people,” Aquino said.

“The speedy enactment of the Joint Resolution will ensure the energy requirements of the country for this critical period – through specific, focused and targeted acquisition of very tight energy supply,” the President added.

The President said he is looking forward to a “favorable response from both Houses.”

Umali said the House of Representatives will likely pass the resolution by October.

But before Congress grants the President’s request, Umali wants Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla to define the parameters as required under Section 61 of RA 9136.

“I asked my committee secretariat to draft a letter to Secretary Petilla to define what should be the basis for the issuance of the joint resolution…To sum it all up, what imminent power shortage are we experiencing? We need clear parameters before we craft the resolution. We may have call for a committee hearing on this,” Umali said.

Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) urged Congress to approve the request of President Aquino for emergency power to address the looming power crisis.

TUCP Executive Director Luis Corral said this will give Aquino the leeway to implement solutions to ensure the country will have sufficient power supply. by Hannah L. Torregoza and Charissa M. Luci (With reports from Mario B. Casayuran and Samuel P. Medenilla) Manila Bulletin

Noy to Congress: Give me emergency powers

President Aquino is greeted by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has formally asked Congress for emergency powers that would enable him to address the projected electricity shortage next year.

Aquino made the request in a letter to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., a copy of which was furnished Senate President Franklin Drilon.

However, Drilon said it was impossible for the Senate to come up with the joint resolution by the end of September since Congress has only four plenary sessions left before it adjourns for a three-week break.

“We don’t even have the draft joint resolution. We don’t know the parameters of the authority being requested. We know the urgency, but we can’t rush into this,” he said.

The letter-request, dated Sept. 12, was included in the House order of business yesterday and sent to the rules committee chaired by Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II.

“In accordance with Section 71 of Republic Act 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, I hereby seek the immediate enactment of a joint resolution authorizing the President to establish additional generating capacity,” Aquino said in his request.

He informed Belmonte and Drilon that the Department of Energy predicts a “critical electricity situation” in the summer of 2015 due to, among other factors, the expected effects of the El Niño phenomenon and delays in the start of operation of “committed power projects.”

“There is no gainsaying that the imminent electric power shortage during these months is a real threat to the country’s growing economy and the general welfare of the people.

“The speedy enactment of the joint resolution will ensure the energy requirements of the country for this critical period – through a specific, focused and targeted acquisition of additional generating capacities for use during the limited periods of time of very tight energy supply,” the President said.

“This authority is needed in order to address the imminent shortage of electric power for the summer of 2015 in Luzon. I look forward to a favorable response from both houses (of Congress),” he added.

Gonzales said they are reviewing the draft bill before referring it to the committee on energy. “We will attend to the President’s request with dispatch,” he said.

Cannot be rushed

Drilon said the Senate would work on the measure “as fast as we can,” but could not be rushed to approve it.

“I think the committee on energy chaired by Senator (Sergio) Osmeña will meet on Wednesday next week. Given all the complicated issues, we cannot rush into this but we know the urgency. We will work on this,” he said.

During the hearing on the proposed 2015 budget of the DOE yesterday, Drilon said the President’s letter was too “broad” and did not contain the parameters for the authority being requested from Congress.

Osmeña also echoed Drilon’s statement that the authority could not be granted to the President by the end of the month.

“I’ve been telling them we’ll have a shortage since 2011 and then now this is going to be my fault? It’s not accurate for them to depend on Senate approval before the end of September,” he said.

He said the Senate has a duty to protect the people from the possible adverse impacts of the grant of emergency powers to the President.

He cited the experience during the Ramos administration when several independent power producers were contracted to address the power crisis with a take or pay guarantee. This led to an overcapacity and the National Power Corp. accumulating a massive debt.

Cost to taxpayers

Sen. Francis Escudero said he wants to find out how much the government would incur and its cost to taxpayers.

“What’s the cost to taxpayers of this measure? Even if power contracted by the government will eventually be sold to distributors, and thus the acquisition cost will be recouped, we still would like to know the costs involved,” said Escudero, chairman of the Senate finance committee.

“How will it be financed? Even if it’s an off-budget transaction, the government has the duty to publicly disclose the details,” he added.

Only solution

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said he had raised the issue since July and would continue to push for the establishment of additional generation capacity as “the only solution… at this point.”

While there are other solutions for the expected power shortage next summer, he said there are no guarantees that these would materialize, and might even be more expensive.

Among the options is the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), which involves distribution utilities such as the Manila Electric Co. and electric cooperatives asking their big load customers to address their power requirements by using their own generator sets.

Petilla said private sector response to the ILP has been “dismal” and there is no guarantee it would materialize and address the power shortage.

He said the old Malaya geothermal power plant in Rizal, also among the options, has to be rehabilitated to be utilized.

Given the uncertainties with the other options, Petilla said contracting with power suppliers is presently the only real solution.

Suppliers’ requirement

He said the end-September deadline for the contracting of additional power was based on the requirement of the suppliers of a six-month period to be able to guarantee the necessary load.

“It’s absolute as far as the supplier is concerned,” he said.

With Congress saying that it cannot come out with the joint resolution this month, Petilla said he could settle for a supplier who could provide power requirements of the country in three months.

“But it will be expensive… I don’t think there is anybody who can supply in three months,” he said.

“There are alternatives but the question is, are we willing to pay for it. There are many alternatives, but our problem is time and cost constraints. What we have to consider is if we’re willing to have brownouts. It all depends on what we want,” he added.

Go slow

Militant party-list representatives and other members of the House minority bloc, however, cautioned Congress to go slow in the grant of emergency powers to avoid the anomalies that took place during the Ramos administration.

“We should not commit those mistakes again, like entering into a take-or-pay arrangement, which allows an investor to be fully paid for his generating capacity, whether that is used or not. We should pity the consumer, who will ultimately pay for our mistakes,” Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, a member of the minority, said.

He said Congress should impose strict parameters for the exercise of emergency powers.

He said Petilla should tell lawmakers his agency’s plans to increase generating capacity in Luzon for the middle of next year.

“Are they buying generators or are they renting? What do they exactly want to do? What are the details? Secretary Petilla should tell us because he will be the one who will be in charge of implementation. As of now, we are groping in the dark, we are guessing. ” he said.

Albano said Petilla should also verify his department’s data on “generating capacity, dependable capacity and demand” to clear up confusion.

“If his own figures for 2013 were to be believed, we even have excess electricity available in Luzon,” he said.

He cited the figures released by his minority colleague, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, and supplied by the DOE, that installed capacity for the Luzon grid is 12,790 megawatts, while dependable capacity is 11,469 MW.

The peak demand for the grid is just 8,700 MW, with Meralco using 6,121 MW.

“If these figures are correct, we will have enough electricity in Luzon next year, when a shortage is projected. Unless they are wrong,” Albano said.

TUCP backs bill

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) expressed support for the grant of emergency powers for the President, but said he must also ensure that it will not lead to power rate hikes.

“We insist that the Department of Energy now present their tariff simulations and cost-impact scenarios to the public so we will know what to do,” TUCP executive director Luis Corral said.

The TUCP said the DOE’s proposals, such as gas turbines and diesel-powered generation sets, could lead to higher power rates.

“We have already advised DOE to do tariff simulations first because the power crisis cannot just be defined as a lack of power supply, it is also about uncompetitive power rates,” the DOE said in a statement.

“It is the consumers who are being punished for the failure to inspect defective meters in 125 distribution utilities by the ERC. And now the power industry wants to add to their profit by creating a power shortage which will allow them to charge more,” the TUCP statement added.

Doable plans

Militant labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on Congress to ask the President to present doable plans to solve the looming power crisis before granting him emergency powers.

PM spokesman Wilson Fortaleza warned that palliative solutions to the power crisis would only bring more problems.

He said the Aquino government should be blamed for the power crisis for doing nothing since warnings were raised as early as 2010.

Fortaleza said lawmakers should also declare the EPIRA and privatization a failure and audit all the plants’ capacities before granting emergency powers to the President. – By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) With Mayen Jaymalin, Marvin Sy, Artemio Dumlao

Congress asked to pass extra power reso

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has asked Congress to pass a joint resolution authorizing him to enter into contracts to add generating capacity to the Luzon grid to avert a looming power crisis in 2015.

In a letter to House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon dated Sept. 12, Aquino acknowledged that the imminent power shortage during the first quarter of next year as “a real threat to the country’s growing economy and the general welfare of the people.”

Aquino stressed the need for the House and the Senate to move for the speedy enactment of the joint resolution that “will ensure the energy requirements of the country for this critical period – through a specific, focused and targeted acquisition of additional generating capacities for use during the limited periods of time of very tight energy supply.”

In seeking the authority from Congress, President Aquino invoked Section 71 – the Electric Power Crisis Provision – of Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

“This authority is needed to address the imminent shortage of electric power for the summer of 2015 in Luzon,” Aquino said.

Section 71 states that the President, upon determination of an imminent shortage of supply of electricity, may ask Congress for authority, through a joint resolution, to establish additional generating capacity under such terms and conditions as it may approve.

The President’s letter noted that the Department of Energy had projected “a critical electricity situation in the summer of 2015” due to the expected effects of the El Niño phenomenon, the turnaround of the Malampaya gas-to-power facility, the increased and continuing outages of power plants, and the anticipated delays in the commissioning of new power projects.

The resolution to be submitted by the Palace is aimed at averting a looming power crisis in Luzon when the Malampaya gas field shuts down for a month from March 15 to April 15 with a shortfall of at least 300 megawatts.

Belmonte said he already referred the President’s request to the House committee on energy chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali.

Umali had earlier vowed “to work very hard” to secure the passage of a resolution that will grant President Benigno Aquino III emergency powers to prevent blackouts next year.

But Senator Sergio Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate committee on energy, said the Palace request would have to be studied very carefully, even as he chided the administration for ignoring his warnings since 2011 of a coming power shortage.

He said Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla was even going around telling people not to believe him because there would be no blackouts in 2015.

“Now they send us a letter and want action by the end of the month? No sir! I have to protect the Filipino people,” Osmeña said.

“We won’t give him emergency powers just like that. We know what happened in 1992, right?” he added, referring to the negotiated power deals by the Ramos administration that resulted in high energy costs.

“We have to be very careful about what type of powers we will extend to them. Number two, we want to make sure that the people know what the price will be. And I am expecting the price will be as high as P15 per kilowatt-hour, or even 20/kwh.”

Drilon said he received the letter from the President Monday, but also said it would be impossible to have the joint resolution by the end of September.

“That is impossible because we don’t even have the draft joint resolution. We don’t know the parameters of the authority being requested. We know the urgency, but we can’t rush into this. We will work on as fast as we can,” Drilon said.

“I think the Committee on Energy chaired by Senator Osmena will meet on Wednesday next week. Given all the complicated issues, we cannot rush into this but we know the urgency. We will work on this,” he added. “I don’t want to bind Senator Osmeña and his committee. They will examine this.”

Senator Francis Escudero urged the Palace to be transparent about how much contracted energy would cost, and how the Malampaya funds would be used if the President is granted emergency powers.

“A powerful light must shine on these contracts in the interest of transparency and to prevent a repeat of the country’s experience during the energy crunch of 1990s when power contracted later burdened consumers,” Escudero said.

In a speech in Quezon province last week, President Aquino announced he was seeking a joint congressional resolution which would authorize the government to order additional generating capacity of around 600 megawatts.

The generating capacity would be cut into two: 300 megawatts to meet the projected base-load deficit and 300 megawatts as buffer or equivalent to 4 percent of peak demand.

Energy officials forecast an energy shortage in Luzon at 400 MW to 1,000 MW during the first half of 2015.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who heads the independent minority bloc in the House, cautioned his colleagues against granting the President emergency powers.

“This is a very serious matter that Congress should address with caution. The concerned government officials should back the necessity of giving emergency powers to the President,” Romualdez said.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa said it supported the granting of emergency powers, but warned that these should not result in higher electricity costs.

“TUCP-Nagkaisa will support the President but the solutions proposed should not punish workers and their families with an increase in power rates. We insist that the Department of Energy now present their tariff simulations and cost-impact scenarios to the public so we will know what to do,” said TUCP Executive Director Luis Corral. – by Maricel Cruz, Joel E. Zurbano, Vito Barcelo - Manila Standard Today

TUCP calls for ERC, Napocor revamp

MANILA, Philippines - Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)- Nagkaisa on Tuesday expressed support for the granting of emergency powers to President Benigno Aquino III to address the power crisis.

The group's support entails the condition that the proposed solution will not drive up electricity rates and that there be a revamp of both the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“TUCP-Nagkaisa will support the president but the solutions proposed should not punish workers and their families with an increase in power rates. We insist that the Department of Energy (DOE) now present their tariff simulations and cost-impact scenarios to the public so we will know what to do,” TUCP executive director Luis Corral.

TUCP-Nagkaisa accused PSALM of criminal negligence for not including in its budget for operations the pending case of the illegally terminated workers of the National Power Corporation.

The recent Commission on Audit report on both the financial and operational audit of the ERC showed it has failed to inspect 125 distribution utilities as to possible metering violations, allowing an overcharging of the bills of millions of customers.

“We will no longer tolerate the intellectual dishonesty and corruption in the DOE, the ERC and PSALM. Workers and their families will no longer be the whipping boys to increase the corporate profits of the power industry up. Workers need also their fair share now,” Corral said.

He noted that while it is difficult to obtain a wage adjustment in Congress and the regional wage boards, it is so easy for the power sector to obtain an increase in their power rates before the ERC.

“The ERC even allows Meralco (Manila Electric Company) to charge its customers for future expenditures and projected operational costs, three years into the future. In effect, the consumer is made to advance for the capital expenditures of Meralco," Corral said.

The TUCP-Nagkaisa decried the failure of the PSALM to factor in the case of the illegally terminated NPC employees.

“Under their Operational Management Agreement, PSALM is in charge of maintaining the assets to answer for the stranded costs of NPC. The biggest elephant in the room was the pending Supreme Court case involving the workers of the NPC. It was the biggest item that would have to be paid,” TUCP-Nagkaisa spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

He said the TUCP-Nagkaisa expressed alarm that some of the solutions listed by the DOE are gas turbines and diesel-powered generation sets.

“This will drive the power rates up. We have already advised DOE to do tariff simulations first because the power crisis cannot just be defined as a lack of power supply, it is also about uncompetitive power rates. Ordinary workers and their families are the ones being punished by for the lack of forwards planning of DOE,” Tanjusay said. - By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com)

With no solution in sight, power crisis will spillover 2016 - TUCP

QUEZON CITY – Without an acceptable and genuine national strategy addressing the forthcoming energy crisis in 2015, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is seeing more brownouts to happen in 2016.

TUCP warned that the real extent of the problem will kick in 2016 and beyond if the current Department of Energy (DOE) secretary resort to quick fix and expensive band aid solutions such as renting power barges and generator sets, gas turbines and effect the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) – a program by the DOE allowing malls to run their generator sets with consumers paying for their maintenance and operation costs.

Under these schemes, TUCP insists the generating companies and their distribution utility will merrily do their supply and demand games while continuously burdening consumers with high power rates and more brownouts. The implications for workers who will be laid off, for jobs that will never be created, for imperiled businessmen, and for the poor consumers are disaster.

“We are alarmed at the silence of the government to directly and genuinely address the power crisis. The silence of Secretary Petilla is deafening. After his ‘emergency powers’ call was made, he is now backpedalling and trying to portray the problem as less than it is. Either he is the ‘boy who cried wolf’ or simply trying to place a band-aid fix because he was unable to make a case for surgery to the president, he clearly has not grasped the true extent of the problem,” said TUCP executive director Louie Corral.

Corral warned that the ILP program is just a stopgap measure. He said Meralco customers will now be financially obligated to cover the costs for Messrs. Sy and Gokongwei running their mall generators for their own use on the theory that by freeing Meralco to keep the lights on in other areas that these oligarchs are doing consumers a favor.

“We are going to end up subsidizing their malls. But the 2015 power deficit is just the tip of the iceberg. The failure of both the DOE to address the policy gap now makes it inevitable that the crisis will repeat itself in 2016 and onwards,” Corral emphasized.

The major policy gap is that government does not incentivize the entry of additional and cheaper power capacity if it continues to allow Meralco to enter ‘sweetheart’ bilateral contracts from their preferred suppliers which will always mean low reserves to ensure high power rates.

To bring in genuine competition and additional supply, TUCP is proposing that there is enough leeway in EPIRA for DOE to mandate that henceforth all the distribution utilities such as the market-dominant Meralco, controlling 74%of the Luzon market, to source their power supply every 3 years from international public bidding held under the supervision of the DOE and ERC.

TUCP suspects Meralco is again behind the power crisis. Meralco allegedly hostaged its consumers to their Redondo coal plant supplier in Subic. When the 600 MW coal plant was stymied by the Supreme Court issuance of Writ of Kalikasan and the objections of environmental groups, Meralco could have chosen 2 to 3 years ago to take their supply from AES Masinloc which also wanted to set up 600 MW plant or even from GN Power in Quezon. Instead they insisted on Redondo.

With 74% of the market share in Luzon, Meralco is proverbial ‘only game in town’ and if they chose any other source, this would have prevented the power shortfall for 2015. “Our call is therefore to clip this self-serving option of their subject the choice of who will supply them to international public bidding under DOE supervision,” he added.

- Samar News

More brownouts in next 2 years -TUCP

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said rotational brownouts especially in Luzon may continue in 2015 due to electricity shortage. Photo shows dark Manila streets where power was affected following Typhoon Glenda earlier this year. AP/Aaron Favila

MANILA, Philippines — Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Monday said it foresees more brownouts for the next two years without a concrete national strategy by the government to address a looming energy crisis.

The group said the real extent of the energy problem will kick in 2016 and beyond if Department of Energy (DOE) secretary Jericho Petilla will resort to quick fixes and expensive band-aid solutions.

Such short-term solutions the group cited as ineffective are renting power barges and generator sets, gas turbines and effect the Interruptible Load Program, or ILP.

The ILP by the DOE will allow malls to run their generator sets with consumers paying for their maintenance and operation costs.

Under these schemes, TUCP said the generating companies and their distribution utility will merrily do their supply and demand games while continuously burdening consumers with high power rates and more brownouts.

"The silence of Secretary Petilla is deafening. After his 'emergency powers' call was made, he is now backpedalling and trying to portray the problem as less than it is. Either he is the 'boy who cried wolf' or simply trying to place a band-aid fix because he was unable to make a case for surgery to the president, he clearly has not grasped the true extent of the problem," TUCP executive director Louie Corral said.

Corral warned that the ILP program is just a stopgap measure, noting that Meralco customers will now be financially obligated to cover the costs for mall owners running their generators for their own use.

It runs on the theory that by freeing Meralco to keep the lights on in other areas, businesses are doing consumers a favor, he explained.

"We are going to end up subsidizing their malls. But the 2015 power deficit is just the tip of the iceberg. The failure of both the DOE to address the policy gap now makes it inevitable that the crisis will repeat itself in 2016 and onwards," Corral said.

TUCP said the major policy gap is that government does not incentivize the entry of additional and cheaper power capacity if it continues to allow Meralco to enter 'sweetheart' bilateral contracts from their preferred suppliers which will always mean low reserves to ensure high power rates.

To bring in genuine competition and additional supply, TUCP proposes to allow enough leeway in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act for DOE to mandate all the distribution utilities such as the market-dominant Meralco to source their power supply every three years through international public bidding under the DOE and ERC.

"Our call is therefore to clip this self-serving option of their subject the choice of who will supply them to international public bidding under DOE supervision," Corral said.

By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com)

TUCP, Ecop: Reduced workweek to backfire

Workers and employers are one in opposing a proposal for a four-day work week to conserve electricity in offices and factories.

Both the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines said the proposal put forth by the Energy department would backfire and erode productivity.

The Department of Energy’s failure to have a policy on power security and competitive rates led to this crisis, said Louie Corral, TUCP executive director. “How dare it now tries to impose a labor policy. Why will workers sacrificed to answer for the policy failure and lack of forward planning of the Department of Energy? When did workers become the safety net to ensure high profits for power generation and Meralco?”

Ecop president Edgardo Lacson, for his part,  said that to cut working days to four a week would blunt the country’s competitive edge in the global workplace.

“While the rest of the world continuously work from five to six days a week, it will  be expected that the country will further slide down in the competitiveness ladder,” Lacson said.

Both groups said the compressed workweek would tell on the health of the workers whose efficiency and productivity would suffer due to fatigue caused by the stressful 2-hour extension for 4 nights.

The Philippines bears highest cost of electricity in Asia and the Filipino family in general has exhausted all means to cut cost, Corral said. “Have they lost all decency? Is this their idea of the social contract of our government with its people? Their cavalier treatment of the SONA directive to consult and their easy conclusion of who must pay the price speak volume about what we can expect from the both of you during the DOE leadership,” he added.

He said that while many Filipinos  are sacrificing because of the power crisis, Petilla apparently does not seem to share this sentiment.

‘Instead of time-bound and transparent multi-sectoral consultations, Petilla is very quick to dump the burden on worker while he insensitively undertook negotiations for expensive power barge rentals. Petilla apparently do not understand correct sequencing,’ he said

For his part, TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said that a compressed  week for daily wage earners would mean one day less of wages.

Tanjusay reiterated the call TUCP made with the Nagkaisa labor coalition in April to President Aquino to convene a multi-agency, multi-sectoral task force to generate a national response and work towards solutions-- a clear policy on power supply, price and a coherent strategy out of the crisis.

He said the DOE failed the consumers by not applying a full-options approach which would have nipped the crisis in the bud or minimized its impact.

The DOE, he said, rather contently sleepwalks from crisis-to-crisis applying one band-aid solution after the other but what they really did was surrender the real power policy making to Meralco and to the generation sector actors-- neither wants a secure power supply or a competitive rate. - By Vito Barcelo