Upang mapabilis ang pagresolba sa power crisis na nararansan ngayon sa Visayas region, inayunan ni Deputy Speaker Albee Benitez na bigyan na ng emergency power si Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Sa joint hearing House committee on energy, Visayas Development at Legislative Franchises sa Bacolod noong Sabado, tinanong si Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin kung makakatulo ang pagkakaloob ng emergency power kay Marcors para mapabilis ang kontruksyon ng generation facilities at transmission lines para maresolba.
“To hasten the construction of the generation companies, and to hasten the construction of the transmission lines, yes, Mr. Chair,” ani Garin kaya agad na inutos ni Benitez sa Kalihim na trabuhin na ito sa lalong madaling panahon.
“Taking off from the response of the DOE secretary…favoring emergency powers to do certain actions that would alleviate the present situation, maybe subject to the presentation of the actual draft of emergency powers that Secretary Garin is asking, I would endorse probably from this joint committee to push the passage of this emergency power especially at this time where we needed it most, to Congress and eventually the President,” ani Benitez.
Ayon sa kinatawan ng lone district ng Bacolod, palala ng palala ang power crisis sa Visayas dahil umaasa lamang ang mga rehiyon sa supply na magmumula sa Luzon at Mindano lalo na kapag magkakasabay na pumalya ang mga generation companies sa rehiyon.
“In practice, much of this investment and generation capacity has become concentrated in Luzon and Mindanao while the Visayas has faced limitation in local supply and generation capacity. Today, Visayas is a net importer of power,” ani Benitez.
“We’re seeing the consequences. The issue before us today is not simply whether (or not) we have enough electricity. The bigger question is, does Visayas have the energy foundation to sustain the growth and economic potential of our region?,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.
Base sa datos aniya ang Visayas ay meron lamang 2,575 megawatts (MW) subalit aktuwal na kailangan ng mga ito ay of 2,624 MW na mas lolobo pa aniya pagsapit ng gabi kaya umaasa lamang ang mga ito mula sa Luzon at Mindanao.
Dahil masyado na aniyang apektado, ang mga tao sa Visayas at maging ang mga industriya at negosyo kaya hindi aniya dapat ipagwalang bahala ito at kailangang na ng agarang solusyon kaya nais ni Benitez na isailalim na ang rehiyon sa emergeny power.
“Emergency authority could give the government more room to act when supply conditions become critical, including securing additional ancillary or reserve power and speeding up projects delayed by regulatory and permitting requirements,” paliwanag ni Benitez.
“Under the emergency powers, pwedeng gawin ng secretary ’yan,” dagdag pa nito. (Bernard Taguinod)
