Rotating blues

Ruffy Magbanua

WHOEVER invented the overly abused words “rotating brownouts” is a nut like no other — crazy enough to think he’s one of a kind who can make a turnaround of things easily with just a wink of an eye.

This is deja vu on the use of the English language that deserves no accolade, not even a loving bear hug  from all of us ordinary power consumers who painstakingly nurse rotating blues every time rotating blackouts occur.

Over in Davao, consumer outrage is brewing following the three- to four-hour  daily rotational blackouts implementation despite full operation of the newly installed 300-mw coal-fired power plant owned by an independent power producer Therma South Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp..

And anywhere in Mindanao, power tripoffs are daily occurrences, thanks but no thanks to Republic Act 9136 otherwise known as Epira or Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

We are one therefore with the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Southern Mindano (Bayan-SMR) in calling for the abolition of the Epira.

For over 15 years, the state of the power industry in the country, particularly in Mindanao, has preserved a status quo.

If there was indeed progress in the power sector, then we ask these: Why do we have blackouts? Do the patches of power development we see around answer the country’s daily energy requirements?

Let’s take a quick glimpse at NGCP’s power situation outlook as of Feb. 2, 2016: Luzon has an available capacity of 9,701 mw with a gross reserve of 1,934 mw; Visayas has 1,6430 mw with a 184-mw reserve; and Mindanao, 1,430 mw with -32-mw deficit. The numbers say it all.

Over the years, there has been a lot of hullabaloo on how to improve the country’s power requirements as power generators try to hobnob for more energy projects yet the very essence of providing electricity to every household is still far from reality.

Among Asean countries, the Philippines is ranked third as far as  the national electrification rate is concerned. Worse, it is estimated that 21 percent of the country’s population does not have access to electricity. And in rural areas, the number is much higher by more than 13 percent.

The time has come to revisit Epira. A new paradigm has to come to the fore. Or shall we ever have that feeling of rotating blues? Take your pick.