Occidental Mindoro in state of calamity due to month-long power crisis
The province of Occidental Mindoro has been placed under a state of calamity because of a power crisis that has lasted over one month, its governor said Friday.
In an interview with dzBB, Occidental Mindoro Governor Eduardo Baltazar Gadiano said their province is experiencing a 20-hour blackout every day.
“We have a have a four-hour power supply and a 20-hour (daily) blackout,” Gadiano said.
“We have an independent power distributor here that is an electric cooperative. Our supplier is OMCPC (Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corporation) which is an independent power producer,” he added.
Gadiano said OMCPC was unable to provide enough electricity because they do not have the funds to buy fuel since it has not received its subsidy from the government through the National Power Corporation.
“Their reason is that they don’t have money to buy fuel because the subsidy has not yet been paid by the NPC through the UCME (Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification),” he said, citing a provision in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).
“It should be paid so the power plants could run, and they are charging at high rates. They are holding the national government hostage,” he added.
Due to the power crisis, several sectors were affected and businesses have threatened to shut down.
“Since we only have four hours of power supply, the businesses are withdrawing and closing. Jollibee and Mcdonald’s are also threatening to shut down. In agriculture and fisheries, our fishermen don’t have ice anymore. The patients in our hospitals are pitiful. They need to run on a generator for 20 hours to keep the patients alive,” Gadiano said.
Students in schools are collapsing due to the intense heat, he said.
Gadiano said he has talked to many government agencies about the power issue including the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), National Power Corporation (Napocor), Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), and the Office of the President.
“We had several meetings on this. We attended a Congressional inquiry and a Senate inquiry. Senator (Raffy) Tulfo also held an emergency meeting with the Senate Committee on Energy. We convened all sectors. They promised to act on this issue but until now, nothing has happened,” he said.
Gadiano said the 10-megawatt and 20-megawatt generator sets of Occidental Mindoro are not working.
“We could have an emergency procurement, but we have to go through a power supply agreement and a competitive selection process. We need to purchase power supply and if the government doesn’t approve, the true cost will be passed on to the customers,” Gadiano said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
