WITH the current power crisis in Mindanao, three business organizations in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental have unanimously called on the government to come up with short-term and long-term solutions to address the energy shortfall in the island.
This, as the organizations have also come up with their own recommendations to help solve the power crisis in Mindanao.
In a joint resolution, the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc. (Oro Chamber), the PIE-MO Industries Association and the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Industries (Coci) said the energy shortfall has resulted in rotating blackouts and has gravely affected the operation of industries, including the micro, medium and small sized enterprises (MSMEs).
They said a vital pre-requisite for business development and investment promotion efforts is a stable and reliable power supply and the advocacy towards a more economically sustainable Mindanao will be undermined by the current power crisis.
During a recent power forum, majority of the organizations’ officers came up with short-term recommendations to help solve the current power crisis.
Among the recommendations they came up are the release of funds by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (Psalm) for the dredging of Pulangi IV, which can provide an additional 255 megawatts (MW) capacity, and for the full operation of the 100 MW Iligan Diesel Power Plant.
The group also recommended tax exemption or tax rebates for fuel purchases used for power generation for the duration of the crisis in Mindanao and for the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to come up with a realistic forecast on the power shortage for the months April to June, so that distribution utilities can efficiently schedule their power curtailments.
They also asked the distribution utilities and grid connected industries to enter into bilateral contracts for the purchase or lease of power barges (bunker fuel) rather than modular generation sets (diesel) that are more expensive and called for the lowering of tariffs in the purchase of generating sets.
This, as the three business organizations vowed to undertake aggressive energy efficiency and conservation campaign to save on needed energy resources, as well as promote the development of renewable energy resource programs.
The joint resolution was signed by Jerome Soldevilla, president of COCI; Augustus N. Adis, president of PIE-MO Industries Association; and Jaime Rafael U. Paguio, president of the Oro Chamber.