Delays in Mindanao power projects happen at LGU level, says DOE 

The lack of facilitation support from local government units (LGU) have caused delays in proposed power generation projects in Mindanao, the Department of Energy revealed in a statement Tuesday.

 

The long approval process in local government offices may have led to a delay in power generation projects, energy secretary Rene Almendras told participants in a two-day Top Level Policy Roundtable Discussion in Manila.

 

The roundtable between private sector and government representatives delved into issues of energy, mining, agriculture, and transport and logistics in Mindanao. 

 

Almendras, however, emphasized there is no lack of power investment in the island region, adding that there are currently 58 service contracts awaiting LGU action. 

 

“We are, as a matter of fact, receiving several power project proposals for Mindanao and are fast tracking the approval of these,” Almendras said in the statement.

 

“However, the implementation of these projects is impeded once it reaches the local level. This needs to be addressed first,” the Energy secretary noted.

 

But Mindanao Development Authority chair Luwalhati Antonino is optimistic that local units would be more involved in achieving energy sustainability in the region.

 

Antonino asked energy players in government to maintain transparency in Mindanao’s power demand and supply situation, as well as on financial figures of the region’s Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

 

State-run PSALM is mandated by the Electric Power Reform Industry Act to privatize the National Power Corporation or Napocor.

 

“A lot of doubts in Mindanao have risen, because we are not given enough information by our energy bureaucracy,” Antonino noted. — MJC/VS, GMA News