What lies beyond solutions to power sufficiency?

THE POWER Sector declared deficiency of 700 Mega Watts or more for the Mindanao Grid. In a power point presentation aided by graph and matrix, the NGCP top brass were trying to justify or get out of the mess why we have the daily rotating power outage jabbing their way for a call to build more power plants in the Philippines.
Business is quick to blame the brown-outs for their losses. Deluxe Hotels are spending an average of P270, 000 additional costs of operations per month to stay in business. Politicians ganged up on the Government for their failure to anticipate the problem and find early solutions. As early as November, the Philippine Atmospheric and Geological Science Administration (PAGASA ) was already foretelling the coming of El Nino and its effect to the water situation in most Philippine Dams and Rivers supplying water to run the turbine of the Hydro Electric Plants. People in the know and those who witnessed the power crises in 1992 were already talking and were giving warning years back that the Power Barges run by diesel and bunker fuel deployed during the Ramos Administration were aging and needs replacement. There were less power plants build in the last nine years and industries were growing with new township and commercial areas open as the population grows by 4% and GDP by 3.2%.

We have waited too long to act and instead the Government was busy privatizing and selling sovereign power assets to the big private business. NGCP a corporate vehicle of China Power Grid Corporation gain entry into the Philippines lucrative power business. It has choked up Transco and other government power assets under the privatization undertaken by the Arroyo Administration. Aboitez Power
and San Miguel Corporation who acquired fuel utility Petron Corporation and a Metro Bank power subsidiary took control of the Coal fired Power Plants. Many other power players came into the picture but they have not done impact projects to boost power generation as of this writing. They spent more time on business take over and corporate restructuring putting favored people in the Board recommended by the Government. Their Stock Holders meeting can tell the emptiness of their portfolio. Instead, there were more rounds of Golf achieved rather building new power plants. Read their disclosures over the last two years at the Philippine Stock Exchange as this are all publicly listed companies bind by laws to divulge their corporate activities to the investing public.

The people and the ordinary tax payers are asking questions. Is the power deficiency real or artificial? Why some Diesel Fuel Power Plants are suddenly decommissioned? A Presidential aspirant who knows his subject matter on doing and reviving business doubts the NGCP logic?

Antidote to the power outage will not be easy since it is clouded with illusions. When evil scheme is applied the truth is hidden. With the press releases of the big business bannered the national papers that Aboitez Power have just switch on the first phase the Toledo Coal fired 200 Mega Watts in Cebu and a 300 Mega Watts new power generating plant will be build by San Miguel Corporation in General Santos City with a target date of 2013 completion. Coal mineral was suddenly elevated as the black gold. The race to coal extraction through the open mining or tunneling flood the Desk at the Mines Bureau. It is interesting to find familiar names associated with the present administrations who are the incorporators to these new mining ventures? There are no secrets as SEC records are open to public scrutiny.

Are the people conditioned to accept the environmentally hazardous Coal Power Plants as our savior? The other option as a solution is the technically advanced and efficient western built Nuclear Power Plant. A more complex proposition since it runs counter to Section No. 8 of our Philippine Constitution on Nuclear prohibition. But we have a problem confronting business. We need electricity to power the industries. We need lights at home in order to have normal lives. We need to light the streets to keep off the Criminals. None of the two options are good. Remember they killed the third option of Hydro Electric generation since it is dependent on the weather? Water recedes with El Nino which visits us regularly due to global warming. Ladies and gentlemen, your guests are as good as mine. We go Nuclear. The safety nets for this undertaking has been proven on many European countries, in Japan and in South Korea.Steag Power which established presence in Misamis Oriental has one in Germany and is capable to operate a Nuclear Plant.

Shall we cover our ears and close our eyes when the next Congress convene and moves for the amendment of the1987 Philippine Constitution and usurp themselves as the duly constituted body to save the people from brown outs? Marcos did that in 1972, he abrogated legislative power by declaring Martial Law with the alibi to save the people from the “Communist” who wanted to topple his Government? He changed the Constitution with his handpicked and paid delegates and made himself a Dictator and the rest was history.

What lies beyond solutions to the power deficiency could be a Machiavellian tactic for a new fundamental law incorporating a Parliamentary form of Government? A new state policy and preamble dictating the use and exploitation of the natural resources? A new economic doctrine defining the laws of business and a Constitutional prohibition on the prosecution of incumbents when their term expires? With a crop of vested interest and allies of the President in the next Congress and with her running for a Congressional seat in Pampanga, the destiny of this nation may have mercy on us.