S. Mindanao could lose P300M in business due to power outages — trader

The ongoing power crisis in the region could lead to as much as P300 million lost from unrealized sales and higher costs in Southern Mindanao, a local business leader said Monday. General Santos Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Rey Billena said that the city's seven fish canneries lose a total of P2 million a day, partly due to fuel purchases for generators and from paying workers who are unable to work because there is no electricity. “The losses amounted to a total of P8 million to P10 million per cannery per month," he said. He also noted that some business owners in the SOCSKSARGEN area are planning to close shop temporarily as long as the power outages occur during working hours. Earlier, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI) said that businesses in the region are losing as much as 50 percent of sales and business opportunities due to the rotating power outages, which have worsened from two- to three-hour episodes last summer to seven- to eight-hour outages this year. "We are very much concerned. If this will not be addressed, it will just get worse," said PCCI vice president for Mindanao Ricardo Juliano. The government expects the region's power crisis to be solved in two years' time with the establishment of diesel-powered plants to augment the region's largely hydropowered facilities. Mindanao, which has a 300-megawatt power deficit, suffers regular power outages every summer when the water levels drop. — BM, GMA News