Power rate hike, enforced brownouts highlight Earth Hour 2010

Earth Hour in RP will be global shame if gov’t fails to present significant solutions to power problem – labor group

Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno expressed solidarity to all who will participate in the Earth Hour activities tonight, but said the Arroyo government must present concrete actions and steps towards the resolution of the current power supply crisis rather than focusing on trivial, short-term, non-significant activities.

“If the government cannot provide any viable solution, aside from enforcing rotating brownouts, to the country’s power supply deficiency during the election period and beyond, then all the efforts for Earth Hour 2010 will be put to waste,” said KMU chairperson Elmer Labog.

“Since 2008, the Philippines have been one of the most active participants of Earth Hour. The Department of Energy (DOE) usually goes full blast with media campaign and even Malacanang shuts down its lights for one hour. Last year, more than 640 cities and towns participated in Earth Hour, making the Philippines the No.1 country in terms of the number of cities and towns participating in the global event,” Labog said.

“We will be a global shame because people in most parts of Mindanao don’t have to turn of their lights as they don’t have electricity because of the 12-hours rotating brownouts in some areas there. The National Grid Corporation (NGCP) and the National Power Corporation (Napocor) imposed rotating power curtailment to different electric cooperatives in Mindanao since last month as a sham remedy to power deficiency.”

He said it’s a double whammy for workers as more than a thousand electric coop employees throughout Mindanao are in threat of losing their jobs due to the power interruptions. “Electric coop executives admitted that work scheduling, rotation of works and even temporary retrenchment were imposed to avert further losses if the power curtailment imposed by NGCP and Napocor continue,” Labog said.

Meanwhile Anakpawis Rep. Joel Maglunsod slammed the latest 91.41 centavos per kilowatthour (kWh) power rate hike by private distributor Meralco allowed by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) saying it is an added burden for Meralco customers. The solon blamed the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) for the latest increase.

“As long as EPIRA allows the pass on of the costs and losses of distribution utilities and generation plants to the people through the ERC's alphabet soup of recovery mechanisms – GRAM, CERA, DAA and now under the Performance Based Regulation (PBR) applied to Meralco – we will continue to see these power rate increases in the future", Maglunsod said.

NAPOCOR and Meralco would apply for another adjustment for their generation rates on top of the current rate hike due to the current power supply problem. With the power crisis already burdening us, we will be facing a never ending spiral of price increases allowed by the ERC under the EPIRA", the solon said.

“The continuing privatization and deregulation of electric power by the EPIRA runs counter to the interests of the Filipino people. It has only made electricity inaccessible due to ever increasing costs.”

He said Congress, especially the Committee on Energy chaired by Cong. Mikey Arroyo, should seriously consider repealing the EPIRA and its pass-on provisions. They should pass Anakpawis-sponsored House Bill 3010 or the proposed measure seeking to repeal Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), Maglunsod concluded. #