“The business sector in Mindanao is already in a crisis situation. There is negative [power] reserve every day, except maybe on Saturdays and Sundays. What the government should do now is to take measures that are outside the box, above normal procedures,” Alejandro told the BusinessMirror. He said these extraordinary solutions could only be taken during a crisis situation, or when the government has officially invoked Section 71 of the Epira. Even the government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has warned that with no additional capacities, “the Mindanao power crisis may stage a comeback in this year’s and next year’s summer season.” Alejandro said the reality is that there is no available capacity in Mindanao or anywhere in the country that can be tapped to supply demand in the southern parts of the Philippines. “On the interim, we can only manage the supply and demand of power in the area. In a crisis, the government can curtail supply to ‘unimportant’ demand. For example, there can be less supply to malls during the evenings,” Alejandro said. The government, he added, could also provide incentives or subsidies to households or enterprises that would run their generators to augment the power supply.
Mindanao power crisis looms anew
