SENATE minority leader Franklin Drilon yesterday said operation of the country’s power grids is better left to the private sector as he rejected a suggestion from Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi to place power transmission under government control to address the power supply shortage in the country.
“Hindi ako sang-ayon doon. Matagal na ako sa gobyerno. Alam ko how inefficient the government is, walang pananagutan sa taumbayan kadalasan (I am not in favor of that [proposal]. I have been in government for a long time and I know how inefficient the government is. It does not look out for its people most of the time),” Drilon told radio dzBB.
Cusi has suggested that government take over the operation of power grids during last Thursday’s hearing of the Senate energy committee on the recent rotational brownouts experienced in Metro Manila and other provinces in the country.
Cusi said having the government take charge of the power grids will mean better planning, address the supply problems, and identify responsibilities once power supply decreases.
In 2001, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA privatized the National Power Corporation’s assets, including power plants, and created a government body, the National Transmission Corporation which now owns the transmission network.
EPIRA also mandated that a private firm should operate, maintain and improve the transmission network. In 2008, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines was granted a 50-year franchise to operate the network.
To address the power supply shortage, Drilon said the Department of Energy should exercise closer supervision over private power generators.
He said the DOE should also encourage the private sector to build more power plants, which he said would take about five years to build.
“Sa akin, ‘yung sistema ngayon ang dapat ayusin kung paano magkakaroon ng sapat na supply, paano magkakaroon ng reserved supply na para kung may masiraan na planta (For me, the present system should be improved so we will have a steady supply of power, and how we can have reserved supply in case a power plant bogs down),” he said.
“Let us look at what incentives we can give to encourage the private sector to build more power plants. If after five years we still don’t have plants, the country will continue to experience power supply shortage,” Drilon said.
