Small entrepreneurs in Davao acquiring own genset due to longer brownouts

DAVAO CITY, March 12 (PNA) - Small entrepreneurs in Davao are scouting for generator sets because of continuous brownouts.

Owner of Kopi Roti, Dr. Zeny Ortega said with the situation now, they need to have a standby generator because their products need to be stored in freezers. She said their healthy ice cream named Picole and the imported dough for the bun that they sell need to be stored in freezers.

The power problem she said has been affecting the business but they have to find ways to sustain their operation.

Dr. Joseph Milana, a practicing physician also said that the medical industry would need consistent power supply because there are medicines that need to be refrigerated.

The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) president Engr. Robert Quinto said they have no information on how many had lately acquired generator sets. But he said the DCCCII had conducted inventory of their members having their own generating sets.

Big establishments here started to voluntary deload from the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) during peak hours, among them SM City Davao even as the proposed deloading scheme is still to be approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) as to the subsidy fund.

It may be recalled that this scheme had already been implemented in Palawan and Panay in 2004 with a subsidy fee on the cost of fuel of P.28 per liter.

The amount is still to be determined considering that most of the generator sets of these big establishments were acquired years back.

The others - malls, hotels and other related establishments - showed interest and will cooperate once the scheme is implemented, he said.

Meanwhile, the Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) through its chairman Vicente Lao announced that the private sector in Mindanao will procure the required power generators to address the power crisis.

In a press statement he said "we can no longer wait for the government to address the crisis. The EPIRA anyway has sufficient provisions to allow us to solve the problem ourselves,” according to Mr. Lao.

“Our power situation is already becoming very serious. We did not expect the shortage of this magnitude to hit us this early. We thought the 484 MW shortage will still hit us by 2014, but it’s already here. So we just have to move and try to solve our problem,” Lao added.

In a meeting he called among the different business organizations in Mindanao last Friday, he identified the following that need to be done immediately:

-- the Mindanao Electric Power Alliance (MEPA) will have to be in the forefront of the resolution of the problem by filing a manifestation with ERC to accelerate the approval of the Electronic Ancillary Service Tendering (EAST) market previously filed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). The MEPA is an association of different industry players and stakeholders like the Distribution Utilities, Chambers of Commerce, Industry Associations, The different Electric COOPs, Majors Users/Consumers;

-- identify investors and business organizations who have the ability to procure the emergency gensets;

-- arrange financing with local banks;

-- initiate discussions with power utilities and local industries for the emergency power sales agreements (EPSAs); and

-- start discussions with ERC on getting a provisional authority (PA) for the EPSAs.

The EAST is expected to allow all major industries and households to bid to get off the grid to give it a relief on the supply pressure. By getting off the grid, the grid can reduce the deficit that it is currently experience of around 700 MW. It is not yet known how much capacity can actually get off the grid and how much it will cost the consumers of Mindanao.

Pete Ilagan, president of National Association of Electricity Consumer for Reforms, Inc. (NASECORE) who was also present in the meeting assured the Mindanao businessmen of his organization’s support in filing for this manifestation.

“Should the ERC give its nod to the mechanism, Mindanao can expect some relief within the month of March,” Ilagan said.

With the emergency powers of the President doomed, Lao said he has no choice but ask his fellow businessmen in Mindanao to invest in the emergency power generating sets that have to be procured on Lease Basis.

“There are not many suppliers in the world who can give us power within the next 30-60 days, but we will try our best to procure them,” Lao said.

Some members of the Mindanao business community have started discussions with the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

“Both insitutions can, together, provide Mindanao at least US$ 100 million for the immediate procurement of the gensets,” reported Lao.

Through the MEPA, initial discussions will start this week so that the terms of the EPSAs can be worked out fast. It is expected that the cost of emergency power will be high.

But Lao was assured by experts that when “blended” with the current tariff of Mindanao, the jump in cost will not be that high. (PNA)
LAP/Digna D. Banzon/lvp