Tulfo set to convene JCEC following Western Visayas Power Crisis

Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo divulged his plan to convene the Joint Congressional Energy Commission (JCEC) to review and eventually decide on the amendment or cancellation of the franchise of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Tulfo, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, made the announcement following NGCP's repeated failure to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations in operating, maintaining, and developing the country's power grid.

It can be noted that said failure by the NGCP to maintain the stability of the grid led to the recent massive power outage in Western Visayas, which includes Panay Island.

During the Senate hearing last Jan. 10, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, Gov. Arthur Defensor and Guimaras Gov. Joaquin Nava lamented that the critical establishments in their province were affected due to blackouts. Worse, they said that billions of pesos were lost in their economy due to NGCP's lapses.

Tulfo said that consumers are the ones suffering from the collateral cost to electric utilities due to the recent incidents.

Likewise, Tulfo cited that among the glaring lapses of NGCP are its absence of timely information dissemination to government agencies as per policy or regulations and its failure to communicate with immediate stakeholders such as electric utilities.

Given the questionable competency of NGCP as a grid operator, Tulfo reiterated that it is about time to cancel its franchise.

Tulfo ico-convene ang JCEC

Planong ipatawag ni Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo ang Joint Congressional Energy Commission (JCEC) upang rebyuhin para sa posibleng amendment o pagkansela sa prangkisa ng National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Naganunsyo si Tulfo, na Chairman ng Senate Committee on Energy, kasunod ng paulit-ulit na kapalpakan ng NGCP at hindi pagganap nito sa mga responsibilidad at obligasyon sa pagpapatakbo, ng power grid ng bansa.

Matatandaan na ang nasabing kapalpakan ng NGCP na mapanatili ang stability ng grid ay humantong sa malawakang blackout sa Western Visayas, na kinabibilangan ng Panay Island.

Sa pagdinig ng Senado noong Enero 10, sinabi ni Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, Gov. Arthur Defensor at Guimaras Gov. Joaquin Nava na apektado ang mga kritikal na establisyimento sa kanilang lalawigan dahil sa blackout. Ang masama pa, sinabi nilang bilyon-bilyong piso ang nawala sa kanilang ekonomiya dahil sa mga lapses ng NGCP.

Sinabi ni Tulfo na ang mga consumers ang nagdurusa sa collateral cost sa mga electric utilities dahil sa mga kamakailang insidente.

Gayundin, binanggit ni Tulfo na kabilang sa lapses ng NGCP ay ang kawalan nito ng napapanahong information dissemination sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno tungol sa patakaran at regulasyon, pati na rin ang kakulangan sa pakikipagugnayan sa mga immediate stakeholders tulad ng electric utilities.

Dahil kuwestiyonable na ang kredibilidad ng NGCP bilang grid operator, muling iginiit ni Tulfo na oras na para kanselahin ang prangkisa nito.