THE bicameral conference committee has reached a stalemate over who should pay the cost of the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) to be implemented in Luzon during the summer months, a lawmaker said.
Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali, House committee on energy chair, said that under the ILP, private companies can be disconnected from the power grid in times of short supply, and can sell any excess power they generate to distributors.
Umali said the House wants the cost of the ILP charged to the multi-billion peso Malampaya fund while senators, particularly Senator Sergio Osmena III, want to pass on the burden to the consumers.
"The House is standing firm with the decision not to pass on to consumers the cost of ILP… as of now yun ang given to me as my position, we stick by it," said Umali.
Last Monday, the House of Representatives and the Senate have failed to reach an agreement on the proposed joint resolution to provide emergency powers to President Benigno Aquino III last Monday.
"It's really a stalemate. We have not reached an agreement with our Senate counterparts," said Umali.
Umali said that 400 private firms equivalent to 1000 megawatts (MW) of power have already registered for the government's ILP program.
The Department of Energy's projected power shortfall from March to July is 782 MW.
"We are looking at an efficiency rating of about 75 percent. This will run to about 750 MW more than double what the executive proposed in the very first place, which is 300 MW that would cost us at least P6 billion," said Umali.
Umali said that if the bicam fails to approve the joint resolution, household consumers will carry the burden of paying the additional generation cost.
"Ang masakit sa Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act] ay yung pass-on provision. Taong bayan ang sasalo. Ang isa pang masakit sa Epira, eh walang subsidy galing sa gobiyerno," said Umali.
He said that the existing Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) protocol approved in 2013 is not clear especially on the mode of payment.
Meanwhile, Umali also took a swipe at Osmena for his statement that residents in the Visayas especially in Cebu who have their own ILP scheme also carry the burden of paying additional expenses in their electric bill.
"We are talking of 1000 megawatts. Doon, mga 20, 30 megawatts lang ang hinahabol nila doon, dito (sa Luzon) isang libo. We are dealing with 400 companies/entities here. Eh doon, mga dalawa tatlo lang kausap natin. It's easy (doon sa Visayas ang Mindanao) eh, it's a manageable thing. This is difficult (in Luzon) because its boardering on unmanageable circumstances. So you cannot compare orange to apples," said Umali.
Umali added the projected power crisis in Luzon will cost a huge amount to the economy.
"Every one centavo increase in the power price will cost about P700 million to the economy in Luzon," Umali said.
Based on established protocols, ILP is implemented during a red alert status (minimal power reserve) upon the notice of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the power utilities informing ILP participants to deload from the grid.
Through the ILP, the aggregate demand for power from the system will be reduced to a more manageable level, helping ensure the availability of supply during the summer season.
Besides the ILP, the Congress said that additional generating capacity shall be sourced from the fast tracking of new committed projects; plants for interconnection and rehabilitation; and adoption and execution of Energy Efficiency and conservation measures shall be pursued vigorously in both public and private sectors. (Sunnex)