MY column about Energy Secretary Sharon Garin on Thursday (“Garin must go,” Oct. 22) received a reaction that surprised even me. Although I did anticipate some feedback, since the topic of calling for a Cabinet secretary’s head on a proverbial pike can be expected to be a bit incendiary, I was a bit overwhelmed with the volume of comments and messages about it, and especially for these to be unanimous in their agreement with my point of view. A couple of those messages were from overseas, as well, which should give our embattled Department of Energy (DOE) chief pause, or at least would, if she were at all living in the moment, because it means that not only are domestic stakeholders comprehensively displeased with her performance, key investors from outside the country are watching, too, and not liking what they’re seeing.
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, the Philippines is still under a state of “national energy emergency,” declared by the president after the outbreak of the Iran war and in force for a period of up to one year. The initial circumstances triggering that declaration, skyrocketing fuel prices and severe risks of shortages due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have eased to some extent, although that might be more a matter of the country getting used to the conditions than anything else. But in the meantime, another, and more damaging, manifestation of the energy emergency has appeared: the now-five-month electricity supply crisis in the Visayas. In the past few weeks, it has become apparent that the crisis is now creeping into Mindanao, as well, and along with all of this, the entire country has been put under strain by much higher energy costs, even in areas not affected by supply constraints, which is the combined indirect effect of both the Middle East and Visayas crises.
If all that weren’t enough to worry about — and by God, don’t you think it ought to be — we must also contend with the worsening impacts of the intense El Niño weather phenomenon, which will profoundly affect our energy system. This is quickly evolving from a matter of serious concern to outright alarm for the energy sector, for reasons I will explain below.
Under the conditions of a “national energy emergency,” it should go without saying that everyone involved in the energy sector, whether in government or in the industry itself, should be operating at a heightened state of alert. That does not mean “business as usual” cannot be undertaken. It has to be, to a responsible extent, because energy planning and development have such long timelines. However, that business has to be conducted within the context of the immediate emergency, which demands that the concerns causing that emergency are visibly prioritized.
That means, in baldly simple terms, openly acknowledging and then taking any steps available to solve the current problems of high power rates and lack of generation supply in two of the three major sections of the country. Yes, the problems are quite complex and do not have many immediate, simple solutions, but so long as the public and other stakeholders’ perception is that if the problems are top-of-mind for the responsible parties, and that work on the solutions to them — that is, measures that will result in more energy supply for the affected parts of the country and lower power bills — is the first order of business every day, then engaging in other, longer-term and sometimes even esoteric business activities is inoffensive and does not give the impression of a lack of current awareness or competence.
Everyone in the energy sector understands this, except for, apparently, our current energy secretary, who has, in the past 10 days, responded to the energy emergency in the following ways:
– Jetting off to the US for meetings on nuclear energy cooperation, something that cannot possibly yield any positive results for the Philippines before about 2038;
– Okaying the re-release of a 10-day-old press release facetiously blaming the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) for the persistent power shortages in the Visayas;
– Hosting a foofy “Women in Power” dinner event at the Solaire Resort in Parañaque City, which, in an irony that caused me to facepalm so hard I drove my hand through the back of my own skull, happened on Oct. 22, the same day my previous column was published; and
– Immediately jetting off again to attend the Singapore International Energy Week, which is happening from Oct. 26 to 29.
Again, if the obvious problems — thin power supplies and high power bills — were addressed, or clearly moving toward solutions, none of this would bother anyone. But Garin playing the social butterfly while those problems persist and only acknowledging them by way of casting easily refutable blame at others simply makes her appear detached from reality and uncaring about the primary responsibility of her department to ensure sufficient, stable and affordable power for the country.
Where this is really becoming an infuriating issue, as I learned — somewhat to my surprise — in my many conversations with industry people on Thursday, is in the preparations, or in the current case, the utter lack thereof, for the peak of El Niño, which we will experience beginning in November or December and can expect to persist until April of next year. Generation firms, the grid operators — the NGCP for most of the country, the National Transmission Corp. for off-grid areas — distribution utilities, and electric cooperatives have all been seeking guidance from the DOE as to how to prepare to manage the imminent situation, but that guidance has not been developed.
It is not a small matter, either. The expected heat wave and drought that will impact the country, possibly in as little as two weeks’ time, will put about 60 percent of the country’s hydropower capacity and 20 percent of the solar generation capacity out of action; those are estimates from the DOE itself. Extended drought and heat waves are also very hard on thermal generating plants and distribution grids, raising the specter of widespread power outages. The energy stakeholders all know that the DOE should lead a unified response; they are willing to do their part in that response, and they have all been asking the DOE, “what do you want us to do?” But so far, all they’ve gotten for a response is the sound of crickets.
Or the sound of a business-class seat taking off for a week of photo-op-worthy goldbricking in Singapore.
ben.kritz@manilatimes.net
Bluesky: @benkritz.bsky.social
Website: www.badmannersgunclub.com
