ENERGY Secretary Alfonso Cusi needs to convince senators that he has not been remiss in the performance of his duties when he appears before the Senate committee on energy on Wednesday for a hearing on the rotational blackouts experienced in different parts of the country last week.
Sen. Sherin Gatchalian, committee chairman, wants Cusi to explain the circumstances behind the power outages, which he said affected 339,000 households from 90 barangays in 16 cities and municipalities.
Gatchalian likewise wants to know the government’s short and long-term solutions to prevent the occurrence of similar outages in the future.
“Mabigat ang kanilang pananalita na nilalabas kaya pinanghahawakan namin ‘yun (Statements from the DOE carry a lot of weight, which is why we are holding them responsible),” Gatchalian told radio dzBB.
The senator was referring to Cusi’s previous assurances that there will be no power shortage during the summer season for the entirety of the administration of President Duterte.
Gatchalian has filed Senate Resolution No. 740 as basis for the committee investigation. The measure likewise seeks to provide a long-term solution to the power shortage, especially during the dry months.
“We must have long-term solutions and we must have measures in place to prevent blackouts,” he said.
Gatchalian said power shortages could have been prevented if the DOE had properly implemented the Anti-Red Tape Act for those who want to invest in the power industry sector and imposed stiffer sanctions on power generators who fail to deliver on their commitments.
He said government must also stop finger-pointing at other entities when power outages happen.
He also said that the government must have a comprehensive plan to ensure sufficient power supply.
Gatchalian said he sees no need for an emergency power to be given to the President to solve the power shortage.
“Emergency power means there will be no bidding when putting up a power plant. That will be a source of corruption. So, I do not see the need for that. There are still things hat can be done to prevent these brownouts without having emergency powers),” Gatchalian said.
