Belmonte slams power producers for simultaneous shutdown

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he was dismayed over the shutdown of power plants that jacked up electricity rates, just when parts of the country were reeling from major calamities.

Belmonte was referring to various power plants, which closed while the Malampaya natural gas pipeline was offline, causing a shortfall in power and increasing prices in the spot market.
“I am not happy with the fact that all of the producers decided to do their maintenance at the same time instead of staggered days,” Belmonte said at a press briefing Thursday.

He also lamented that the power plants failed to prepare for a possible shortfall just when the country faced major calamities in 2013 – the 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Bohol and the Super Typhoon Yolanda in Central Philippines as the main tragedies.

“In the middle of our predicament, our tragedy with Yolanda and other calamities, all of a sudden, this (power rate increase) is put in front of us,” Belmonte said.

“With a little foresight, I think it would have been alleviated,” he added, referring to the tight power supply.
Belmonte made the statement as the House committee on energy conducts its probe on the historic power rate hike by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), seen by critics as a result of collusion among power players to increase electricity prices.

Belmonte declined to comment on a supposed price manipulation by Meralco on the spot market, saying it is still a subject of the probe.

Meralco on Wednesday’s House probe confirmed that it bought power at a higher price from their supplier Therma Mobile Inc., but said they did not know the said power was dispatched.

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