Energy investments needed to solve power shortage – OFW group

NGCP power lines (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The government should prioritize energy investments to address the inadequate power supply in the country, the Advocates and Keepers Organization of Overseas Filipino Workers (AKO-OFW) said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The power shortage has led to high generation costs, the group pointed out.

“The solution is to prioritize energy investments. Building power plants take a minimum of three years. Thus, investment decisions must be made as soon as possible. Additional power generation supply is key in ensuring the government’s economic goals are achieved,” Dr. Chie Umandap, the group’s chairman, said.

Umandap said the group was “confident” that the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will exhaust all means to resolve the issue.

“Whether it is nuclear, renewable, or even traditional based power plants, paramount at this time is to build reliable and dependable capacity that can meet the country’s expected growth trajectory,” he said.

Delayed generation cost implementation

Meanwhile, AKO-OFW lauded the decision of the Supreme Court permitting the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to collect on a staggered basis the billions in generation costs accrued since 2013.

“The High Court’s decision finally puts a closure to this long-standing issue that hounds not only power consumers but the entire power industry supply chain,” Umandap said.

“It is unfortunate that this issue had to endure eight long years before finally reaching a resolution. Had it been enacted earlier prior to the pandemic, then this would have been completed already. Thus, the Supreme Court’s decision needs to be implemented swiftly since delaying this could come at even more challenging times,” he added.

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