The PCCI is all over the power cost issue. That’s good to see.
In a resolution adopted at the 32nd Philippine Business Conference, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed several measures aimed at lowering the country’s electricity costs. Since the document is not available on their website, I can only rely on the newspaper article (which is never done by me without trepidation).
Here’s the list, as I interpret it:
- Expeditious approval by the ERC of MERALCO’s consumer choice program
- Expeditious approval by the ERC of NAPOCOR’s enhanced one-day power sale
- Reassess the TRANSCO’s performance-based rate (PBR)
- Reduce TRANSCO’s rate by 30 percent
- Cut the value-added tax on fuel seven percent from the present 12 percent
- Increase the budget of the ERC allowing an improvement in its technical and review capability.
- Maintain Mindanao as a separate grid from Luzon/Visayas (i.e. abandon the interconnection project).
- NAPOCOR should construct/transfer/relocate a 100-megawatt diesel-fired power plant in Southern Mindanao where power is badly needed by industries.
- Create a Power Crisis Committee to be composed of the Department of Energy, Napocor and the Philippine Electricity Market Corp.
But we need to be very clear here. The first five items have nothing to do with reducing the cost of providing electricity – they are wealth transfer issues – they take money out of one pocket and put it in another. Don’t they? The cost of energy production in the country remains essentially the same, it seems to me. Those items are – to be more precise – concerned with price.
The next four items might actually have something to do with costs as well as prices – or, theoretically, loosely lead to something to do with costs.
I also note that as of yesterday the PCCI really can’t speak for Mindanao. See: Davao City chamber bolts PCCI; PCCI VP for Mindanao, governors resign en masse . Update. Update.