Mike Banos has a really good entry today on Mindanao.
Among the several interesting things is this statement:
Energy consultant Dean De la Paz [that name sounds awfully familiar to me but I can't place him] said "the IPPs do not trust the figures of the DoE forecasts and there is a need to go beyond these abstract economic concepts which don’t reflect reality. In a sense, the participatory approach brings all stakeholders to the table, and bridges the disconnect that exists between government and the IPPs."
Absolutely. We’ve been wrestling with this same issue in California over the past 2-3 years and I participated with the California Energy Commission in addressing it.
This is a tough government-private issue; it’s hugely important for energy security and getting the right signals to the market; there are conflicting interests among differing energy sector players that have to be addressed.
Based in Mindanao, I will have some kind of a role in this effort – it’s just not apparent yet whether it will be explicit or implicit and on the sidelines.