Lacson-Sotto to address recurring power outage in N. samar
THE recurring power outage issue hounding the provinces of Negros Oriental and Northern Samar has prompted Partido Reporma standard bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his running mate Senate president Vicente “Tito” Sotto to place it in their priorities of actions.
According to the two veteran lawmakers, they would look into this problem by seeking updates from the Department of Energy and the National Power Corporation.
People in Northern Samar have been experiencing unstable electricity over its reliance on power generation companies from Luzon when, in fact, the 123-megawatt Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant is right within Region 8, according to a Catarman-based journalist, who asked the question during a press conference in Catarman, Northern Samar Sunday.
Lacson, in response, said it was similar to the issues raised to them by members of the business community and local government officials in Negros Oriental during their dialogue last Saturday (December 11) in Dumaguete City.
“The same problem na nangyayari sa (that has been happening in) Dumaguete, Negros Oriental; umiikot pa, napapamahal tuloy (power transmission takes a long and winding route, leading to higher electricity costs),” Lacson told reporters in Northern Samar.
He said it should be fixed with the Napocor and DoE as he noted that these problems can be attributed to some gaps with respect to the implementation of policies by the regulating agencies.
Businessmen in Negros Oriental have concerns over the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) management of its transmission lines, leading to widespread power interruptions that affect many businesses and households across several cities and municipalities in the province.
Lacson said he and Sotto would bring this matter up to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy, to see if the Senate can exercise its congressional oversight that could help address the situation.
“We’ll bring this up to his (Gatchalian) attention and do something about this, at least through oversight. We have the oversight mandate of Congress particularly, in this case, the Senate. So, rest assured, we’ll bring this up—the matter to Sherwin,” Lacson said.
