MANILA, Philippines?Using power barges is the ?only viable solution so far? to the energy crisis in Mindanao caused by a dry spell spawned by El Niño, one of the co-chairs of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) said Monday.

Letting go of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and repealing the law deregulating the power sector could also help address the country?s power shortage, said Satur Ocampo, a guest senatorial candidate of the Nacionalista Party.

Sen. Gregorio ?Gringo? Honasan, JCPC co-chair, said power barges, including those used in the Beijing Olympics, could be tapped to supply power to brownout-stricken areas in the country, particularly in Mindanao where the power deficit reached 183 megawatts (MW).

?The only viable solution so far that has been presented has been the power-barge solution,? Honasan said after the JCPC held a hearing on the energy crisis Monday morning.

?We are getting a better view of the availability and capacity of power barges, including the power barges used in Beijing Olympics that are now in Australia,? he added.

Found in Navotas

Jesus Alcordo, president of Global Business Power Corp., told the commission that there were four untapped power barges in Navotas that could supply a total of 242 MW, or more than enough to mitigate the power shortage in Mindanao.

The barges, which have a total capacity of 242 MW, remain unused because they were the subject of litigation between the owners and the banks, according to Alcordo.

?The government can probably do something,? he said.

Another suggestion was to revive the 100-MW Enron bunker fuel plant in Subic, Olongapo.

With 53 percent of Mindanao?s energy needs supplied by hydroelectric plants, the dry spell has hit the island?s energy supply hard. The Polangui hydroelectric complex, which used to supply 255 MW, is generating only 126 MW. The Agus complex, which has a capacity of 727 MW, is now producing 315 MW.

Reliance on hydro

?The problem in Mindanao is there was too much reliance on hydro. There is very little fossil fuel in Mindanao. So if there is El Niño, whatever you do there, there will be a shortage,? said Jose Ibazeta, president of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

Honasan said the commission would hold more hearings before coming out with recommendations. Reyes and all his five energy undersecretaries failed to attend Monday?s hearing. The secretary was reportedly in Cebu to meet with energy stakeholders there.

?The problem is in Mindanao, Mr. Reyes, not in the Visayas,? said Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. after noting that there was no Department of Energy representative at the hearing.

Bypassed

?I?d like to really ask the committee to put its foot down. Even if Mr. Reyes has been bypassed several times (by the Commission on Appointments), they are still obligated to response and attend,? Pimentel said.

Reyes was also absent last week from the House energy committee hearing on the crisis because he was in Mindanao.

With the government considering tapping the mothballed Iligan diesel-powered plant, which could supply 30 MW, the expected 4-MW shortfall in Mindanao on Election Day could be addressed.

?What we are saying is that there are measures in place that could be put to provide solutions to short-term problems. But definitely it does not require the use of emergency powers,? said Ernesto Pantangco, president of the Philippine Independent Power Producer Association.

Costly in the short term

However, solving the energy crisis in the short term could turn out to be costly for the government.

?At this point, in order to meet the shortage until such time that we can find a solution, we are going to run very inefficient and very expensive plants. At the end of the day, somebody will have to pay for that additional power costs,? Ibazeta said.

Honasan said the government could provide subsidies for temporary solutions if the power shortage worsened.

Fire Reyes first

Ocampo, a Makabayan senatorial candidate, pointed out that experts need not look far for solutions to the problems besetting the electricity sector.

?As a first step, the President should fire Secretary Angelo Reyes for his incompetence and his failure to uphold the interests of consumers against the big power and oil firms,? Ocampo said.

In a statement, he said the government did not need an energy secretary who ?doubles as a spokesperson for big oil and power monopolies.?

The energy secretary should uphold the people?s interests, Ocampo said.

?From Day One, Reyes did not nothing but ensure that the oil cartel and the power monopolies continued to rake in super profits at the expense of the consumers and the public good. Reyes should have been sacked long ago,? said the militant party-list representative of Bayan Muna.

He said the repeal of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) was a necessary step to stabilize the power sector.

?EPIRA institutionalized the onerous IPP (independent power producer) contracts of the Ramos administration and delivered the energy sector on a silver platter to private monopolies,? he said. With a report from Michael Lim Ubac