Panay Energy Alliance rejects private investment power fix

ILOILO CITY — The Panay Energy Alliance has challenged the Department of Energy’s call for more private investment to address continuing power shortages in Panay and the Visayas.

The group argued that expanding private participation would not solve the immediate supply problem.

The alliance issued the statement after Energy Secretary Sharon Garin acknowledged that red and yellow alerts in the Visayas Grid were unlikely to disappear soon.

A yellow alert means operating reserves have fallen below the required contingency level. A red alert means available supply cannot meet demand.

The government is pursuing power barges and battery energy storage systems as short-term measures. Garin said 253 megawatts of battery capacity were planned across the Visayas, including 50 MW for Panay.

Garin has also sought investors for new power plants and discussed a Panay-Mindoro-Batangas interconnection. The alliance said two privately controlled power plants in Iloilo remained about five years from completion.

PEA questioned whether more private investment could provide a genuine solution, given the existing role of private generators in the country’s electricity sector.

The alliance cited Aboitiz Power Corp., Manila Electric Co. and San Miguel Corp. as major private interests presented as possible answers to the shortage.

PEA said large private generators already play a major role in the power system, yet consumers still face brownouts and high electricity prices.

The alliance blamed the situation on the privatization of the electricity sector under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. It argued that private profit has driven the system for more than two decades.

Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, restructured the industry and required the privatization of most National Power Corp. generation assets.

Average spot-market prices in the Visayas rose from PHP 4.24 per kilowatt-hour in January to PHP 18.59 in August. The increase was about 4.4 times.

The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines said outages, tight supply margins and transmission limits drove the August increase.

IEMOP said the effect on electricity bills varies because utilities use different mixes of bilateral contracts and spot-market purchases.

“Hence, there is nothing scientific or pro-people about simply throwing more private investment at the problem,” the group said.

The alliance said Garin’s position amounted to “business as usual” while consumers continued to carry the cost of the power crisis.

Alliance demands accountability

PEA also criticized Garin for setting aside calls to assign responsibility for the crisis.

Garin said after a Sept. 14 meeting with the Regional Development Council 6 that officials needed to work together instead of point fingers.

The alliance said accountability was necessary to resolve the current shortage and plan for the country’s future energy needs.

It said electricity decisions should be based on evidence, transparent records and technical assessments.

PEA demanded answers from private generators and power interests that it said dominate the electricity market.

The alliance put three questions to private generators and plant owners: Why did their units shut down? What are their current operating conditions? When will they become fully reliable?

The group also sought disclosure of how much generating capacity was available and how much could be depended upon.

“The public must be informed of how much generating capacity is actually available and how much is dependable,” the alliance said.

PEA said the figures would help consumers assess the electricity supply and determine whether existing plants can meet demand.

Group seeks supply agreement disclosures

The alliance also demanded that power suppliers disclose their bilateral supply agreements and participation in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

PEA said consumers had the right to know what they were paying for and who benefited when electricity prices remained high.

The group said the contracts and market data were needed to show how electricity was supplied and priced during the shortage.

IEMOP said bilateral contracts accounted for about 86.6% of systemwide metered energy in August, while spot-market transactions accounted for 13.4%.

Alliance seeks price rollback and tax relief

PEA called for government intervention to reduce electricity costs, including a rollback to April 2026 prices subject to a transparent regulatory review.

The group also sought the suspension of value-added tax on electricity bills and of value-added and excise taxes on oil.

The alliance said the measures would ease costs for consumers already experiencing interruptions and high prices.

PEA also questioned the government’s reliance on new private power plants as a response to the immediate shortage.

“Building new private power plants that will take five years to complete does not solve today’s crisis,” the group said.

The alliance argued that the projects would mainly preserve opportunities for private investors to profit from electricity generation.

PEA said a long-term solution required changing the country’s energy system, rather than adding more privately owned generating facilities.

Group calls for public control

The Panay Energy Alliance called for the repeal of Republic Act No. 9136 and the nationalization of the energy sector.

It said generation, transmission, distribution and energy planning should be placed under public control to improve transparency and accountability.

The alliance said the system should be planned around public needs rather than the interests of private investors.

“Reliable electricity should not be a luxury. It is a public necessity,” the alliance said.

PEA said electricity must be affordable and accessible and free from what it called capitalist dictates.

The group said Panay did not need another business opportunity presented as an energy solution.

“Indi negosyo ang solusyon sa krisis sa elektrisidad nga negosyo mismo ang nagtuga,” the group added.