INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will also be looking at power issues plaguing Palawan province, after Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and two Palawan representatives filed a resolution seeking a congressional probe into the matter.
Romualdez in a statement on Wednesday said he, Palawan 2nd District Rep. Jose Alvarez, and Palawan 1st District Rep. Edgardo Salvame have filed House Resolution No. 1544, asking the House committee on energy to probe issues hounding the Palawan Electric Cooperative (Paleco).
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The resolution cited rising power rates in the province starting last November, believed to be a result of the Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) entered by Paleco with Delta P, Inc. a month before.
“It has always been the responsibility of the State to provide the people with reliable, secure, and affordable power sources. And what is happening in Palawan involving high power rates, low energization levels, and inefficient power distribution, Congress needs to intervene,” Romualdez said.
“The dire situation in Palawan dampens our enthusiasm over the directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to provide the people with low power rates and increase energization targets nationwide by 95% in 2025. I hope that with this probe, we can find a solution for all stakeholders in Palawan, especially our citizens,” he added.
A chart provided in the resolution showed that residential consumers’ electricity per kilowatt hour (kwh) rates were at P11.13 in October 2023 and increased to P13.36 in November and P14.71 by December.
Increases in power rates were noted across commercial, industrial, and public building facilities and for street lights.
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According to the lawmakers, the EPSA between Paleco and Delta P was borne out of an order from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which ordered that the electric cooperative cease its Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with Delta in line with a Supreme Court ruling.
This EPSA is only valid for one year, and will expire by October 2024. However, lawmakers fear that consumers might suffer from the high prices of electricity for months — prompting them to file the resolution.
“What is important is we address all matters at the soonest possible time to unburden Palaweños of the power woes of Paleco. Hindi po nila ito kasalanan pero sila po ang nagdudusa sa malaking binabayaran sa kuryente (It is not their fault but they are bearing the burden of paying high electricity prices),” Romualdez said.
The Speaker said that they would also try to help Paleco address its poor performance, as it has suffered from having the lowest collection efficiency (91 percent) and the highest non-momentary power interruptions within Mimaropa in 2023.
“Sisikapin naming magpa-abot ng anumang tulong o suporta para sa PALECO upang magkaroon tayo ng agaran at pangmatagalang solusyon sa kuryente at enerhiya para sa bawat Palaweño,” Romualdez said.
(We will try to give whatever help or support to Paleco so that we will have a quick but long-term solution to the power woes experienced by each Palaweño.)
“We will also look for ways to help PALECO address its shortcomings and reduce its deficiencies. The sooner we resolve its problems, the sooner we get Palaweños out of this dire situation. As I have said, we aim to help all stakeholders in Palawan, and that includes PALECO,” he added.
The committee on energy has been busy recently, after calls to investigate another power issue — the January 2 Panay-wide blackouts — were made by lawmakers.
Last January 11, the said panel held a probe on the issue, where it was revealed that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) made several lapses.