House: Aquino’s emergency power proposal needs pruning
House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The ally-dominated House of Representatives wants to limit the President’s emergency powers to address the looming electricity shortage in 2015.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Majority Floor Leader Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said what the chamber received as a draft resolution only listed the section of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) that allows the granting of emergency powers to the President.
He said this gives the President blanket authority to address the power shortage during the summer.
“We are trying to identify which option kasi ang una naming natanggap na draft is apparently a verbatim reproduction of Section 71, and when you do that, that is effectively giving the executive the entire option on which among the possibilities ang pwede niyang gamitin,” Gonzales, a Liberal Party member and ally of President Aquino, said.
“We are trying to limit that as much as possible,” he added.
Epira allows emergency powers to the President “upon the determination by the President of the Philippines of an imminent shortage of the supply of electricity.”
“Congress may authorize, through a joint resolution, the establishment of additional generating capacity under such terms and conditions as it may approve,” Section 71 of the law reads.
“We don’t want to make it as a general power,” Gonzales said.
The Department of Energy is expecting an 800 megawatt shortage of electricity during the summer months of 2015 in Luzon and Visayas due to the thinning hydropower reserves.
Gonzales said the chamber should be able to draft the joint resolution granting the President emergency powers by Friday, at the latest.
He added that the joint resolution may be passed by December if the energy committee meets to tackle the draft bill during the break. Congress will go on break from September 27 to October 19.
Gonzales said among the options, the chamber is leaning towards the Interruptible Load Program. The other means to address the power shortage are leasing or purchasing of generator sets.
Under the ILP, big industrial and commercial customers who have the ability to produce their own electricity through generating sets should cut off or reduce their supplied electricity, particularly during peak periods of the day, and instead use their own generator sets.
This is to give way to other customers who may need electricity than the commercial users. The businesses are also required to contribute their excess energy reserves.
But the program only secured few businesses to provide over 100 MW of the 800 MW shortage, Gonzales said.
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