Eastern Samar power woes blamed on costly generation charge, coal

MANILA, Philippines — An ongoing energy crisis in Eastern Samar towns is being driven by high generation charges caused by rising coal prices, a House of Representatives inquiry found on Monday. 

The Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative (Esamelco) was summoned by lawmakers to shed light on the power situation in the province.  

Guian, Eastern Samar Mayor Annaliza Kwan said her town was plagued by high energy costs and frequent power outages. The crisis has deterred investors and hampered fisheries production. 

“I’ve been asking Esamelco, calling from my office, regarding this problem. Sabi po nila, it is because [National Grid Corporation of the Philippines] did not or cannot put up a substation or a transmission line in our location because Guian is a dead end,” said Kwan.  

“It is clear business, not service. Until when will we suffer?” she added. 

The lack of energy has made storing fish haul difficult, pushing fishermen to travel to other cities just to buy ice, said the local mayor. 

“We cannot take off, we remain poor because of problems in power, especially in the southernmost part of our province, which includes Guian,” Kwan said. 

According to Esamelco General Manager Jose Michael Edwin Amancio, it was the generation charges driving up electricity costs. 

“In 2022, that’s the time where the price of the generation charge has spiked, and it has, up to the present, increased. The price is currently around P15 [per kilowatt]. The highest in 2022 for Esamelco was P17 per kilowatt hour, Mister Chair. It’s only [the] generation charge,” said Amancio. 

“The main contributor is the coal power plant. At the time, the price of the imported, per ton, rose up to $100 per ton to $300 or even $500,” Amancio said when asked what had driven up the charges.  

Other factors cited were the depreciating value of the peso versus the dollar, as well as the high fuel costs of transporting the coal, said Amancio.

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