President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to declare a state of calamity in Mindanao to ensure government resources are ready to address the debilitating power shortage in the region.

Placing Mindanao under a state of calamity was recommended by the senior government officials during a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City as the region continues to grapple with long brownouts.

Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales said they expect the President to sign soon the declaration of state of calamity in Mindanao to enable local government officials to tap five percent of their calamity funds to augment power supply in their areas.

Mindanao, which relies heavily on hydroelectric power plants, is reportedly experiencing a shortage of 700 megawatts.

“After listening to the DoE (Department of Energy) and PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), I think it’s really necessary that we declare a state of calamity in Mindanao so we are recommending to the President that we will be declaring a state of calamity in Mindanao,” Gonzales told reporters after the NDCC meeting.

“She is very concerned about this so we expect it as soon as our recommendation arrives in her desk, she will act,” added Gonzales, also chairman of the NDCC.

The signing of the proclamation would likely be done on Thursday, or shortly after a cabinet-level group convenes to finalize a list of government options to increase power supply in Mindanao.

Mrs. Arroyo, who attended the turnover rites of the military command in Camp Aguinaldo, was unable to attend the NDCC meeting that tackled the power crisis in Mindanao due to time constraints. She rushed back to the Palace for other engagements with new ambassadors.

Gonzales said a Cabinet-level group studying options to resolve the power crisis in Mindanao would meet with business groups in Mindanao on Thursday to hear their proposals.

Malacañang is expected to give a green light this week to a package of measures to increase the generating capacity of Mindanao, including a government- private sector partnership in the lease of generator sets, transfer of power barges from Luzon to Mindanao, operation of companies at night, and power load sharing among firms.

“Our problem in Mindanao is more dependent on hydropower and the supply of water has really been dangerously low so we hope that there will be rain or typhoons by July then we can normalize the water supply,” Gonzales said.

Mindanao Economic Development (MinDa) Chairman Jesus Dureza earlier declared Mindanao faces a calamity due to the power shortage as a result of the dry spell.

Dureza said the situation is expected to get worse since the country is still on the onset of the El Niño phenomenon.

Mindanao relies mostly on electricity from hydroelectric power plants, some of which have struggled with low water levels.

Brownouts in some provinces in Mindanao range from five to eight hours a day, according to Dureza.

Apart from Gonzales and Dureza, other Cabinet officials present in the NDCC meeting were Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, and Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro.

The President earlier approved the recommendation of Reyes to declare a power crisis in Mindanao so her government could use special powers to address the power shortfall in the region with the consent of Congress.

President Arroyo, however, stopped short of calling for a special session of Congress to get the approval she needs after lawmakers could not promise to form a quorum. Such scenario has forced her to explore alternatives to ease the Mindanao power problem.

While solutions for Mindanao are not anywhere near yet, Luzon will be experiencing relief as the Malampaya facility will finally be back on-line this March 11; hence, shoring up supply from the gas plants.

Joey warns of sweetheart deals
Meanwhile, opposition senatorial aspirant Joey De Venecia called for vigilance over the administration plan to cloak itself with emergency powers to solve the Mindanao power crisis, as he warned that “the impending declaration of a power shortage emergency in Mindanao could be used by the outgoing Arroyo administration to enter into highly expensive sweetheart deals with its favored suppliers.”

De Venecia said even President Arroyo’s allies “know full well that she doesn’t need to invoke Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act so that the National Power Corp. could buy or lease modular generation sets to augment the island’s power supply.”

“Yet again, energy consumers will end up paying for both the cost of the high-priced stop-gap energy generating facilities and its 'SOP' costs, and the uptick in electricity rates the power emergency is triggering,” De Venecia said.

In a separate development, the increase in the generation charge of utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) that will be passed on to customers in its March billing was slashed by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to P0.9114 per kilowatt hour (kWh), P0.47 per kWh lower than the P1.3851 per kWh originally petitioned for by the utility firm. The generation charge to be reflected in this month’s billing cycle then would be P5.8417 per kWh from February billing of P4.9303 per kWh.

“We only allowed P0.91 per kWh, about 47 centavos lower than what they (Meralco) proposed,” ERC executive director Francis Saturnino Juan said, although he advised that the decision is still for promulgation by the Commission. (With a report from Myrna Velasco)