Aquino: Power crisis in Mindanao caused by long neglect

President Benigno Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Admitting that the power problem in Mindanao had been neglected for years, President Benigno Aquino III urged the people there to be patient as his government was working to solve the crisis, which may take more than two years.

Speaking in Filipino and English at the birthday party of Imus Representative Erineo Malicsi Sunday night, the President acknowledged the power situation in Mindanao was a long-standing problem.

“We admit it, the problem was neglected,” Mr. Aquino said, noting that the Agus 6 hydroelectric power plant in Iligan City was built in 1953, or 59 years ago, and it had been running since then although its vital components were good for only 30 years.

The power plant needs to be upgraded.

“I did think that if 30 years ago, when I was still a college student, they had fixed this problem, then  I would not have this problem now,” the President said.

The National Power Corp.  will rehabilitate the power plant. The President said the rehabilitation of the two Agus 6 generators would take 30 months and cost a hefty

P2.6 billion.

Water more expensive

While the rehabilitation of the hydroelectric plant is going on, two coal-fired power plants would be built. To ease the power shortage, power barges would be used, but this would be expensive because the barges would be powered by crude. The President said crude was expensive, but power from water was more expensive.

“If we don’t want brownouts, we have to accept this until the construction of the two coal-fired power plants is finished, and that will take two years,” he said.

Reacting to reports that the Zamboanga International Airport had been shut down by a power outage, the President said he never promised to fix the power problem in Mindanao in just two days.

“It’s not like we’re changing a light bulb here,” Mr. Aquino said. The development of the two coal-fired power plants will take two years so the people of Mindanao have to understand that relief from the power shortage will take that long to come.

The President said he could not tell people to be patient because the problem did not start during his term. But he said he could promise that he would ask for help to get things going so that people need not suffer.

Businesses affected

In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing that Mindanao would have “power difficulties” for the next two years, but by 2014 “we will have sufficient plants that are going to go online.”

Lacierda said the Palace had no “hard figures” yet on the impact of the brownouts on Mindanao’s economy, but acknowledged that the outages “certainly … affect businesses.”

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna party-list Representative Teodoro Casiño urged the government to take over the privately owned barges to ease the power crisis in Mindanao.

Casiño said small and medium enterprises were bearing the brunt of the power shortage that causes 15-hour brownouts a day in General Santos City, three hours in Zamboanga City, and two hours in Davao City. He said businesses needed immediate relief from the high prices charged by the owners of the power barges.

With the government taking over the operation of the power barges, Casiño said the 150,000 small and medium businesses in Mindanao, mostly in retail and food, would get relief until the new power plants were ready.