Power grabbers

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

In 2009 the Department of Energy granted service contracts for the building of hydroelectric power plants in almost all the rivers of Negros Occidental. It turned out that the firms who got the service contracts were not serious about building any hydroelectric power plants because almost two years after, the representatives of those firms have not returned to the province and had not conducted any pre-feasibility studies on the hydro power potential of the rivers as required.

Because those so-called investors had been granted legitimate service contracts, serious investors in hydroelectric power plants cannot make any plans to develop those areas. In order to address the looming power crisis where the projected power deficit of Negros Occidental by 2015 is estimated to be a whopping 93 megawatts, the provincial government has asked DOE Secretary Jose Rene Almendras to have those inutile service contracts cancelled so that serious investors can begin their engineering studies into the feasibility of those rivers as sources of power. This is important because, even if service contracts expire two years after issuance under the Renewable Energy Act, we really get to get the ball rolling as soon as possible our economy would really benefit if we were be self sufficient when it comes to power instead of our development being crippled with a power crisis that is projected to affect us in a few years if nothing is done now.

If there had been no complications, three hydroelectric power plants, with a combined production of 67 megawatts, were being planned to be built in Negros Occidental. Legitimate firms have already expressed interest in the construction of those plants that will be powered by clean and renewable energy.

We hope that the DOE acts to not only expedite the canceling of existing service contracts and granting them to investors who are truly serious about building power plants, but also moves to punish those people who have essentially sabotaged the future power requirements of an entire province by cornering contracts that they had no plans to fulfill anyway.*