By Herbert Vego
Solving the energy crisis
IN the preceding two issues, this column called the attention of Antique Governor Rhodora “Dodod” Cadiao to the highest-ever cost of electricity imposed by the Antique Electric Cooperative (Anteco) on her people, allegedly because the price of coal in the world market had jumped from US $60 to $400 per metric ton.
I asked her to ask Semirara Mining and Power Corp. – which operates the open-pit coal mine in Semirara Island in Caluya, Antique — to play “patriotic” by selling coal at reduced prices to local coal-fired power plants.
I echoed the opinion of a legal luminary that “a big share of Semirara earnings should go to Antique coffers” — representing the province’s 40 percent internal revenue allotment (IRA) — in accordance with the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160).
Take note that as published in the August 4, 2022 issue of the Daily Inquirer, Semirara made a profit of P15 billion in the first quarter of the year.
Since the Semirara coal mine is located in Antique, it is ironic and embarrassing that among all distribution utilities (DUs) in the region, the Antique Electric Cooperative (Anteco) charges the highest power rate at P16.17 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
In contrast, MORE Power in Iloilo City charges P12.48/kWh.
I wonder whether Governor Cadiao has heard the small voice of this columnist as echoed by radio commentators in Antique.
There is no quarrel over the fact that differences in power rates among DUs is a combination of varied factors, such as the economies of scale, system’s loss and techniques (diskarte), among others. In the case of MORE, it had kept prices low – hovering between P6 and P9/kWh – for 14 straight months by sourcing the cheapest power from a geothermal plant via a short-term contract.
The Russia-Ukraine war was what triggered the rise in coal prices, dictated by the law of supply and demand. It’s not surprising; the two countries used to be the biggest exporters of coal.
Add to our problem the devaluation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar.
The high cost of electricity saps the consumption budget of the less in life. And yet we don’t feel the government finding ways and means to cushion its impact.
We can only hope and pray for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, for that would roll back oil and coal prices that have soared to the max.
I remember economist Gerardo Sicat, a former chair of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), saying in a speech that when today’s 60-year old Filipinos were born, the crude oil price hovered just around $2 per barrel. The price of OPEC crude today has hit $100 per barrel.
Then and now, the bad news is that only countries with petroleum resources enjoy the climb. This reality calls for a diversified program of energy not dependent on oil and coal.
We have witnessed the emergence of hydroelectric power along river falls in Luzon and Mindanao.
Limited geothermal electricity has sprung from small geothermal facilities in Negros and Leyte.
Mayor Milliard Villanueva of Concepcion, Iloilo believes that our country could have harnessed cheaper and more stable electricity in the mid-1980s through the Bataan nuclear plant.
The plant was almost finished when President Cory Aquino took over then President Marcos Sr. in 1986. However, she mothballed the project for fear of a reactor meltdown similar to the April 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power disaster in Ukraine.
In contrast, Japan, Korea and Taiwan pursued the nuclear path. Today, these countries boast of a dozen or more nuclear plants which generate a third of their total electricity requirements.
Where can we turn to for sufficient energy today?
I remember that Senator Loren Legarda, Antique’s former congresswoman, once said in a speech, “Renewable energy expansion will help solve our energy problems. It’s an important step we must take in order to harness and develop the abundant alternative energy resources that our country possesses.”
Solar energy is shaping up to be the next alternative. It uses solar panels to convert the sunlight into usable energy. In recent years, the Philippines has successfully integrated solar energy production to positive results.
Oh, well, it is public knowledge that Senator Loren Legarda’s son, Leandro Leviste, has teamed up with billionaire Enrique Razon Jr. in the on-going development of solar farms in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac.
Haring Araw, please come in.
