Council backs Provincial Board to defer Steag privatization

THE Cagayan de Oro City Council on Monday passed a resolution throwing its support with the Provincial Board of Misamis Oriental in its demand to defer the privatization of Steag State Power Inc. – Independent Power Producer Administration (Steag-IPPA) which plant is based in Villanueva town.

City Councilor Teodulfo 'Bong' Lao Jr., chairperson of the committee on energy, said that the passage of a resolution in the city level adds and strengthens the nationwide call to defer the privatization.

"There might be another increase of power rate in Mindanao amid this power crisis and privatizing it would add burden to the consumers in the island," Lao said.

Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001 has long been pushing for full privatization of the power industry, but this move also allowed private cooperatives to increase their power rates.

Privatizing Steag contract would lead to the privatization of the procurement of the power plants’ fuel requirements and the management of the contracted energy output of the facilities, including the sale of power and offering of ancillary services.

Lao said the move would be 'untimely' since we cannot compete yet with other power industry due to the power shortage in Mindanao.

"The deferment will last until the power supply in Mindanao will be in a stable condition," Lao added.

The Misamis Oriental Provincial Board passed the resolution that strongly urged the government through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) to defer the privatization of Steag-IPPA' last month.

But councilor President Elipe argued that the new resolution would create a conflict since the past administration already passed a resolution objecting Steag's privatization.

"This would conflict the past resolution wherein kita gayud mismo, nag-object gayud, dili lang deferment atong gipangayo ato. But now, deferment na, wouldn't this create conflict with ourselves?" Elipe said.

"Asa man gayud ta, mag-object or sa deferment lang?" he added.

But Lao said the Epira law states that all independent power producers are already bound for privatization.

"What we will ask nalang is to delay it unta, until ma-stable na ang power supply sa Mindanao," Lao said.