TWO lawmakers are urging the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) to ask the Department of Energy to conduct a feasibility study that will pave the way for the creation of the Mindanao Power Corp. (MPC).
In House Resolution (HR) 2243, Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Imelda Quibranza Dimaporo and Rep. Abdullah D. Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte First and Second Districts, respectively, said that the proposed MPC will manage the Agus-Pulangui Hydroelectric Power complexes (APHC).
HR 2243 was referred to the House Committee on Energy for its consideration and action.
The lawmakers also urged the Department of Budget and Management to allocate funds for the purpose in the proposed 2016 General appropriations Act.
“The challenges facing the country’s power industry must be addressed to avoid any power crisis in the future and derail the nation’s development efforts,” the lawmakers said.
“It is now necessary for the government, through the Department of Energy, to seriously study its options on the future of the APHC, including the creation of the MPC for the greater benefit of Mindanao and the nation in general,” the Dimaporos added.
The Regional Development Council of Region 10 has endorsed a Legislative proposal for the creation of a government-owned and -controlled corporation to be known as the MPC that will manage the APHC, the lawmakers said.
They said the combined installed capacity of the APHC is about 55 percent of the total capacity of the Mindanao Grid.
“Republic Act 9133, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act [Epira] of 2001, was enacted to institute reforms in the electric power industry of the country and ensure reliable and affordable electric power for all Filipinos in a regime of free and fair competition,” they added.
The lawmakers said that “paragraph [f], Section 47 of RA 9136 provides that the APHC may be privatized not earlier than 10 years from the effectivity of Epira, subject to the discretion of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management, in consultation with Congress.”
“There is now a necessity for the government to explore and study its options to ensure the nation’s power resources needed to sustain inclusive development,” the authors said.