‘Nakakainit ng ulo’: Hontiveros wants ‘better explanation’ on power woes

Sen. Risa Hontiveros—INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines—  The rotational brownouts and higher electricity bills prompted  Senator  Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday to demand a “better explanation” from the Department of Energy (DOE).

“Nakakainit ng ulo (It’s frustrating),” Hontiveros  said  in a statement.

“Sa halip na konsyumer ang sabihan ni Sec. Lotilla na magbawas ng konsumo kung kailan natin mas kailangan ang kuryente, mga energy officials muna ang maglabas ng matalinong plano. It’s time for action, not just empty promises,”  she said, referring Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla.

(Instead of advising consumers to reduce consumption precisely when we need electricity the most, Secretary Lotilla should have energy officials come up with intelligent plans first. It’s time for action, not just empty promises.)

Just last week, the DOE  called for everyone’s cooperation in minimizing power consumption, especially at peak hours during the remainder of the hot season.

READ: DOE to public: Reduce power consumption during peak hours

For Hontiveros,  however, it is the responsibility of the DOE to provide a “lasting solution” to the recurring alert levels in the Luzon grid

“We’ve had enough. Paulit-ulit ang pagkukulang ng NGCP  (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines),” she  said.

(We’ve had enough. The shortcomings of NGCP are recurring)

Sustainable solution needed

“Ang kuryente, pampagaan yan ng buhay, hindi pampabigat. Kailangan na natin ng isang totoo at sustainable na solusyon sa harap ng sabay-sabay na outages ng mahigit 20 planta,”  the senator added.

(Electricity is supposed to lighten our lives, not burden us. We need a real and sustainable solution in the face of simultaneous outages from more than 20 plants.)

NGCP  has been issuing red and yellow alerts as electricity demand has increased this summer.

READ: Still not enough power for Luzon, says NGCP

Just recently, the country’s lone grid operator reported that more than 20 power plants were either unavailable or have reduced their output.

But these simultaneous forced outages by the power plants baffled Hontiveros.

“Paanong naging sabay-sabay yung mga outages ng mahigit 20 planta? At sasabihin lahat ng yun ay unplanned outages? Kung hindi nila yan maipaliwanag, hindi na rin nakakapagtaka na paikot-ikot at paulit-ulit ang problemang ito,” Hontiveros said.

(How did the outages of more than 20 plants happen all at once? And they would say that all of those were unplanned outages? If they can’t explain that, it’s no wonder this problem keeps going around in circles and repeating itself)

The senator then reiterated the urgent need for proactive measures and intelligent planning from the DOE to address the persistent electricity challenges faced by the public.

“Tama na. It’s about time energy officials stopped dragging their feet,”  Hontiveros said.

“We deserve better than their endless excuses and half-baked explanations, and it’s time to hear innovative solutions to tackle these relentless power outages,” she further said.

NOTE:  The English translations in the article were AI-generated and reviewed by an editor