PhilStar 67, Storms, DUs and ECs

Storms, DUs and ECs

ENERGY, INFRA AND ECONOMICS - Bienvenido Oplas Jr. - The Philippine Star

November 13, 2025 | 12:00am

https://www.philstar.com/business/2025/11/13/2486758/storms-dus-and-ecs

 

This year is another “year without summer” in the Philippines with rains in the past 11 months, similar to the years 2020-2023 when there were 12 months of rains. Exception was 2024 with four hot and dry months because of the big El Nino while we experienced prolonged La Nina from 2020-2023, then this year. Cooling prevailed over warming, at least in the Philippines.

 

So far, 21 storms have entered the Philippines this year and more than half made actual landfalls. The most recent were Kalmaegi (local name Tino) that devastated Cebu and other provinces in the Visayas and killed 232 people with over 100 missing, then Fung-wong (local name Uwan) that devastated several provinces in Cagayan Valley and North Luzon.

 

Last Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DOE) gave a press conference on the status of power restoration in the provinces affected by both Kalmaegi and Fung-Wong. Speakers included DOE Secretary Sharon Garin and Undersecretary Felix Fuentebella, National Power Corp. president Jericho Nograles, officials from National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, National Electrification Administration and Meralco.

 

Meralco reported almost 100 percent power restoration by Nov. 11 while many electric cooperatives (ECs) in Luzon have energized only 64 percent of the municipalities affected.

 

NGCP reported that in the Visayas, 55 transmission lines were affected but all restored by Nov. 8. In Luzon, 108 transmission lines were affected but 83 have been restored by morning of Nov. 11. From the updates by NGCP, only four lines remain unavailable as of Nov. 12 morning. I appreciate NGCP’s frequent updates, something like four to six times a day and night, including the affected DUs and ECs.

 

Meralco Power Gen (MGen) announced that during severe storm Kalmaegi, they were able to maintain operations of their power plants in Cebu and Iloilo -- Cebu Energy Development Corp., Toledo Power Co., Panay Energy Development Corp. and Panay Power Corp. All four are thermal plants and proved resilient despite strong winds and rains and the absence of sun for days. That is one beauty and advantage of thermal power plants over intermittent plants.

 

In hard-hit Cebu that experienced few days of blackout and wipe-out of many houses during Kalmaegi heavy flooding, the Visayan Electric Corp. (VECO) announced that by Nov. 10 they have restored power to 95 percent of their customers. Its sister companies like Davao Light and Power also provided assistance to them particularly on damaged lines, collapsed poles and replacement of damaged equipment.

 

The DOE presscon and reporting of various agencies, government and private was good in informing the public the level of power restorations and where power gaps are still present.

 

Modernizing electric cooperatives,the case of BATELEC II

 

Two weeks ago, the Batangas Forum for Good Governance and Development Association Inc. issued a statement supporting the proposed joint venture between Meralco and Batangas II Electric Cooperative (BATELEC II) as the latter continues to provide poor and unreliable service to its customers in franchise area.

 

The forum is composed of business and civic leaders, professionals and residents of Batangas. They issued a resolution dated Oct. 29, 2025 and signed by its chairman, president, vice president and board of trustees.

 

The group cited the frequent power interruption problems that disrupt business operations and stifled growth in the affected cities and municipalities of the province. They also cited Meralco’s financial, operational and technical track record, that the private distribution utility (DU) can bring in systems, investments and operational discipline needed to deliver more dependable service to local enterprises and communities — as it has successfully done in Batangas City, Sto. Tomas City and San Pascual.

 

BATELEC II franchise area includes Lipa and Tanauan cities, plus 15 municipalities -- Alitagtag, Balete, Cuenca, Laurel, Lobo, Malvar, Mataas na Kahoy, Mabini, Padre Garcia, Rosario, San Jose, San Juan, Talisay, Taysan and Tingloy.

 

Good move by the Batangas Forum. ECs like BATELEC II will not move easily without clamor from its consumer base. Electric cooperatives (ECs) by nature are pampered by politics and politicians, their inefficiencies and wastes are subsidized by taxpayers via subsidies and loans given by the National Electrification Administration (NEA).

 

As shown in the DOE press conference, it is the private DUs like Meralco and VECO that are able to quickly re-energize the storms-affected areas compared to areas covered by ECs.

 

DUs are superior to ECs on two fronts: (1) DUs are monitored by SEC and not NEA, SEC does not and cannot extend taxpayers money, NEA does. (2) DUs are corporations subject to possible bankruptcy and hence are strict in their financial and technical operations, while ECs are non-corporate cooperatives that are shielded from bankruptcy via NEA protection and political favoritism. There is moral hazard problem when ECs remain shielded from bankruptcy.

 

For now, I support the Meralco-BATELEC II joint venture as short-term solution to the frequent power distribution problems suffered by residents of the province. Electricity supply there should stabilize, frequent interruption should be avoided. Substantial capital expenditures to modernize the system and some price hike will be expected but it will be justified by more business expansion and job creation-retention in the province.

 

Over the long term, I believe that all ECs should become private DUs. Real public service to electricity consumers is the abolition of threats of blackout, the assurance of power supply and distribution stability, reliability and security. Cheap but frequent blackout is anti-consumer.