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Thursday, December 08, 2005
National Power Corporation can't sustain City's power: exec
By Jay Dooma Balnig and Lory Ann B. Bilbao
THE National Power Corporation (Napocor) in Panay could no longer supply power for Iloilo City consumers and can not substitute the power provided by Mirant Global to Panay Electric Company (Peco) should the later stop their operations due to alleged losses.
Engr. Nelson Homina, plant manager of Napocor, said in an Aksyon Radyo interview that even if the 100-megawatt power plant of Napocor in Dingle is functional, they could not provide the alternative power for Peco's consumers that are being provided by Mirant Global, an independent power producer.
The Panay grid sustains the power for electric cooperatives like Ileco 1, 2 and 3, Capelco (Capiz), Anteco (Antique) and Akelco (Aklan).
Should the Pamilucan, Dingle power source operates, there will only be an excess of 15 megawatts from use of the electric cooperatives.
Thus, they could not supply the 78 megawatts that Peco needs for the city's consumers.
To note, it was the Napocor who supplied power to Peco before the Panay Power Corporation (PPC), which is now Mirant Global, a subsidiary of Metro Banking Corporation) came into being.
Homina admitted that the Napocor's power rate is only P3.19 per kilowatt-hour (kwh), almost half of the P6.83 price per kilowatt-hour rate of Mirant Global now being supplied to Peco, based on the recent press statement of Peco during a press conference.
Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC)-Iloilo chairman Romeo Gerochi said he still could not believe Mirant's P6.83 figure as the latter failed to justify the rate.
Gerochi challenged the Mirant Global executives to put their declaration of P6.83 per kilowatt rate sold to Peco into a sworn statement or under oath, but they failed to do so.
Based on the unbundling of rate order by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to Peco, the city power distributor is only allowed to collect P5 per kilowatt-hour effective last September.
Peco counsel, Atty. Salvador Altura, in a previous interview claimed that Mirant Global is 98 to 99 percent power supplier of the city's needs and that Peco only acts as distributor.
Meanwhile, Gerochi filed last Monday a criminal complaint for grave threat against PPC Vice President Arman Lapus for saying that Iloilo City will experience a blackout if it closes.
"His statement caused the apprehension to the general public and the thousands of consumers of Peco," Gerochi stated.
He said that to exert pressure on the public to refrain from opposing Peco's petition during the public hearing last Tuesday, the PPC held a press conference last November 30.
Gerochi said in its statement, the PPC stated that unless the old rate of Peco is revived by January 2006, PPC will close its operations which will cause a total blackout in the city.
"The aforesaid threat of the PPC was intended to dissuade the general public from opposing the proposed rate increase of Peco which would result if the petition is approved. The threat constituted economic sabotage which is a crime punishable under Article 46 of the Epira (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) Law, and the same being a violation of the franchise obligation of Peco," Gerochi said.
A fine of P50,000 to P50 million may be imposed if administratively prosecuted or imprisonment and a fine of P5,000 to P5 million if criminally prosecuted.
Gerochi also said he himself might be wrongfully and erroneously blamed for the blackout issue.
(December 8, 2005 issue)
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