THE GOVERNMENT signaled its readiness to take over Siquijor Island Power Corp. (Sipcor), the province’s sole power generator, if Sipcor proves unable to deliver continuous power, energy officials said.
“If we can prove that Sipcor can no longer manage, then by all means, I would strongly suggest, and I’m sure my Secretary will agree with me, we should exercise police power to take over operations,” Antonio Mariano C. Almeda, administrator of the National Electrification Administration (NEA), said during the post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) briefings on Wednesday.
Siquijor was placed under a state of calamity in June due to the deteriorating power situation.
According to the Department of Energy (DoE) Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, Sipcor’s capacity is 11.58 megawatts (MW), but only 8.816 MW is being contracted to the Provincial Electric Cooperative of Siquijor.
In his fourth SONA, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. ordered NEA, the DoE, and the Energy Regulatory Commission to resolve electricity crisis in Siquijor before the end of the year.
Mr. Marcos said that initial investigations showed that Sipcor has “expired permits, broken generators that were clearly neglected, slow response times, and the lack of a system for purchasing fuel and spare parts.”
Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin reported violations on Sipcor’s part in terms of its ability to maintain an adequate number of generator sets.
“I think we’ve been quite lenient because we’ve been giving chances over and over again. Even in finding those gensets, we’ve been helping look for solutions — but now, we’re back to where we started,” she said.
Mr. Almeda also said that NEA is tapping third-party surveyors composed of engineers from the University of the Philippines to “evaluate the viability of whether or not (Sipcor) can still continue to perform its obligations.”
“If we are not convinced that they can still continue according to the provisions of the contract, and I believe contractual obligations should always give way to the interest of public welfare, and that’s the time that the government will step in,” he said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera