NGCP compound along Araneta Ave. Quezon City. INQUIRER File Photo / LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines—The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has apologized for its delayed projects blamed for recent power outages in parts of the country.
The apology was made by NGCP spokesperson, Atty. Cynthia Alabanza, when she faced the Senate committee on energy’s hearing on Wednesday.
“First of all, I’d like to clarify and express our apologies for the delayed projects. Hindi ko lang po na-express pero aminado po kami na may nga delayed projects,” Alabanza said.
(First of all, I’d like to clarify and express our apologies for the delayed projects. I didn’t get to express it, but we admit that there are indeed delayed projects)
“Pero po yan po ginagawan ng paraan. We are hoping to energize a second one by today. Nagdadasal ho kaming lahat dito para mabigyan namin kayo ng magandang balita,” she added without elaborating.
(But we are finding ways to address that. We are hoping to energize a second one by today. We are all praying to give you some good news here.)
The delay in the implementation of NGCP projects is the subject of a resolution earlier filed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.
READ: Gatchalian seeks Senate inquiry into delayed implementation of NGCP projects
According to Gatchalian, the delay in implementing NGCP projects “causes a multi-layered impact.”
“When we talk about attracting investments into the country, the power supply is a fundamental consideration. How can we attract investors if we don’t have adequate supply and if it’s too costly?” Gatchalian said when he sought a Senate probe through Senate Resolution No. 616.
During the same hearing, Alabanza told the senators that no Chinese holds any executive and managing position except for four directors on the board.
“From the beginning po, they only exercise (their functions) in an advisory capacity or as members of the boards,” she said, responding to Gatchalian’s query.
NGCP is 40 owned by the State Grid Corporation of China while the remaining 60 percent stake belongs to Filipino businessmen.
The Chinese firm’s role was further explained in a prepared opening statement of NGCP which was supposed to be delivered during the hearing. The statement was nevertheless released to the media.
In the statement, the power grid operator stressed that the State Grid’s stake “cannot and does not amount to control of the company because Filipinos own 60% of NGCP.”
“The government has always been fully aware of State Grid’s interest and participation in NGCP. State Grid was the foreign member of the consortium that won the concession over the transmission system after an open and competitive public bidding which was conducted four times. This consortium eventually formed NGCP to act as the concessionaire,” Alabanza also said in the statement.
Under the Epira, she said, the awardee of the concession must have “proven domestic and/or international experience and expertise as a leading transmission system operator.”
Since the transmission business was nationalized or state-controlled prior to the passage of the Epira, there was no Philippine corporation with “proven domestic and/or international experience and expertise as a leading transmission system operator,” “of comparable capacity and coverage as the Philippines,” the spokesperson explained.
“This experience and expertise would necessarily come from a foreign partner. Foreign participation was therefore expressly recognized and even required by the Epira,” Alabanza said.
“It was State Grid, as the foreign member of the consortium, which provided this required international experience and expertise to NGCP,” she added.
NGCP assured this foreign participation poses no threat to national security.
“All control centers, substations, and command centers are operated and manned by Filipinos. There is no danger of any foreigner directly controlling, or interfering with, the operations of the grid,” Alabanza said.
According to her, various measures are already in place to ensure that the transmission system is protected from unauthorized remote access.
This was an apparent reference to Senator Raffy Tulfo’s earlier statement that the Chinese firm has remote access to the country’s power transmission system based on intelligence reports his office had received.
“NGCP will continue to do all that it can to protect the transmission system from all threats,’” Albanza said.
NGCP also clarified it is not opposed to a proper inspection or audit of the grid or its system operations in accordance with the Epira and the Concession Agreement.
However, Alabanza pointed out that the system operations audit may only be conducted by the Energy Regulatory Commission which she said has “regulatory authority over NGCP.”
“NGCP reiterates that it will participate in a system audit to be undertaken by the ERC, in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the Epira,” she said.
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