Rep. Karen Garcia seeks House probe into Visayas power crisis

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A LAWMAKER in Cebu wants the national government to conduct investigations into the prolonged power crisis in the Visayas.

Cebu 3rd District Rep. Karen Hope Garcia has sought a congressional inquiry into the recurring power outages in the Visayas, saying officials and power industry players must be held accountable if supply and planning failures are driving up electricity costs for consumers.

“We need to establish the ground truth behind these blackouts,” Garcia said in a statement.

Garcia filed House Bill 1439, urging the House Committee on Energy to summon officials from the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), and major generation and distribution utilities to explain the continuing power disruptions in the region.

The inquiry, she said, should establish the actual operating condition of power plants in the Visayas and determine whether reported outages were caused by legitimate mechanical failures or other operational problems.

It should also determine whether power generators and other industry players complied with regulatory requirements and whether authorities took action against operators found to be non-compliant.

Garcia specifically wants the DOE to submit a detailed, unit-by-unit history of power plant outages in the Visayas Grid.

The information would allow lawmakers to examine the frequency and causes of plant breakdowns and determine whether show-cause orders or penalties were issued against operators over violations identified by the agency.

The proposed investigation comes as the Visayas Grid continues to experience supply pressures.

NGCP data showed that the grid recorded 94 yellow alerts and 31 red alerts as of Sept. 4, with additional alerts declared in the days that followed.

The continuing disruptions have also raised concerns over the potential impact on electricity rates.

Garcia cited reports that electricity rates in Cebu could increase from about P11 to nearly P19 per kilowatt-hour. She warned that households could face rate increases of as much as 70% as a result of short-term power procurement decisions made during recent supply deficits.

For Garcia, the issue is not only whether electricity supply is sufficient but also whether consumers are being forced to absorb the cost of failures elsewhere in the power system.

“The public deserves complete transparency and accountability,” she said.

The lawmaker said ordinary households should not become a “financial safety cushion” for deficiencies in power planning and supply management.

She also wants the ERC to examine measures that could shield consumers from sudden increases in their electricity bills, including allowing distribution utilities to defer the recovery of generation costs or use other regulatory relief mechanisms.

Garcia said the congressional inquiry should provide clear answers on what is causing the recurring outages, whether responsible parties are being held to account, and why consumers should bear the financial consequences of the ongoing power crisis.

The investigation, she said, should ultimately establish who is responsible for the disruptions and ensure that accountability does not stop with explanations of supply shortages.(RBE)