MANILA, Philippines?A power crisis in Mindanao must be declared in Mindanao to allow the government to use ?emergency powers? in addressing the worsening supply shortage in the island, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said.

In a statement, Reyes said his recommendation to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would allow the government to invoke Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira).

This provision, which would need Congress approval, would allow state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) to engage in the power generation and selling business following the declaration of an ?imminent power shortage? and the granting of emergency powers, Reyes earlier explained.

Invoking Section 71 would allow Napocor, for example, to buy or lease modular generation sets that can augment the power supply in Mindanao. These generator sets, which can be made available in as short as one month, would however be ?very, very expensive sources of power,? Reyes had explained.

Last month, Reyes admitted that the government would be able to address ?more expeditiously? the power supply shortage in Mindanao if the government were allowed again to generate and sell electricity.

Meanwhile, the power supply situation in Mindanao continues to worsen with the reduced energy generation from the hydroelectric power plants brought about by the El Niño weather disturbance, according to Reyes.

He reported that the capabilities of the Agus and Pulangui hydropower plants have been reduced by 80 percent and 90 percent, respectively due to very low water inflow to the reservoir. The 35-megawatt (MW) Iligan diesel power plant remained unavailable, he added.

Historically, hydroelectric power plants generate 53 percent of the total energy generation in the region. This was reduced to 26 percent last week and further down to 20 percent during the weekend, Reyes said.

As of February 27, the hydroelectric power plants' capacity has been reduced to only 215 MW from the rated available capacity of 982 MW, said Walter W. Brown, president of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

According to Brown, these supply deficiencies resulted in power outages of about one hour in Davao City; two hours in Iligan City; four to five hours in Cagayan de Oro and General Santos City; and seven hours in Zamboanga City.

During the weekend, parts of Davao Oriental had no power for 24 hours.

Brown reported that the system demand in the Mindanao grid would likely reach 1,221 MW within the week, in the face of continuing supply deficits.

?In Luzon, power supply will continue to be normal and will further improve after the expected completion of the ongoing preventive maintenance services for the Malampaya natural gas facilities on March 5,? Reyes said.

?In the Visayas, barring force majeure occurrences and other unforeseen developments such as fuel supply constraints and, the effects of the El Nino phenomenon, the Visayas grid will not have supply problem starting March this year up to 2014,? the energy chief added.

Meanwhile, Representative Juan Miguel ?Mikey? Arroyo, chairman of the House of Representatives energy committee, has called for a hearing Monday to discuss the power situation in the country, in Mindanao.

Reyes said in a previous briefing that the government has begun implementing measures to ensure that the second largest island in the country would have adequate power reserves in time for the elections in May.

In particular, Reyes said his office has been fast-tracking several projects that could start operating immediately. The government has also been in talks with the private power companies to generate additional capacities in their power plants.

He also disclosed that the government made arrangements to enable the Iligan power plant in Mindanao to run soon and add to the much needed power capacities in the island.

?This Iligan power plant has certain concerns and questions because the local government, because of (allegedly unpaid) back taxes, had taken over the plant. We said that we should not allow a legal case to get in the way of generating power. I talked with the mayor and we informally agreed that the plant should run and the income will be put in escrow while the case is pending in courts,? he explained.

Reyes said that his office has been asking the different power generators and the project proponents to inform the government when additional power capacities could be made available.

?At the same time, we had our DoE bureau in charge of energy efficiency and conservation discuss with them measures to have a demand side management of power,? Reyes explained.

Reyes further disclosed that the government has been introducing the supply augmentation program, wherein big industrial firms or enterprises that have been generating their own electricity requirements could be tapped to sell their excess capacities to those who would need them.

This scheme is being implemented in Cebu and Davao and could thus be implemented on a larger scale, according to Reyes.

?It's better that we have multiple approaches?anything that will help limit the shortage would be welcome,? he added.