Advocates want green energy projects hastened
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Consumer advocates on Tuesday warned that the cost of power in Mindanao, and even the rest of the country, could rise further if the Department of Energy (DOE) lifts the moratorium on the use of coal to generate electricity.
BenCyrus Ellorin, project director of the Consumers for Renewable Energy Advocacy in Mindanao (Cream), said the experience of Mindanao with coal-based energy is instructive about the cost impact of coal dependence.
“The rise of energy cost in Mindanao began when it became dependent less on hydro and more on coal-fed capacities about a decade ago,” Ellorin told the Inquirer, citing a study done by their group and that of the Mindanao Renewable Energy Acceleration and Coordination Hub.
Currently, coal comprises 49 percent of the southern region’s energy mix while hydro fills just 26 percent. Coal became dominant in Mindanao’s energy mix after the dependability of the aging hydropower generating facilities—which are owned by the national government—dropped amid rising energy demand over a decade ago.
Ellorin noted that the price of coal is volatile, citing the 400-percent spike in the commodity’s cost during the COVID-19 pandemic and during the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago.
From contracted costs of P6 per kilowatt-hour, the cost of coal-based electricity shot up to P17/kWh because of the price disruptions caused by the global events, he added.
And it will not be different today as the price disruptions in the global oil market affects the coal supply chain, he added.
Ellorin explained that the cost of coal-based power “may appear cheap at first glance” but what the public is not aware of is the automatic cost adjustment when global prices rise and when there are upward movements in the currency exchange.
Renewables in Mindanao
Instead of lifting the coal moratorium, the DOE should hasten the approval of renewable energy projects in Mindanao and the rest of the country, he said.
“The people will be happy and thankful to the administration of President Marcos if the government listens to the genuine clamor of the people from the grassroots. [They] need assurance from the government that it is working to improve energy security by cutting dependence on imported fossil fuels like coal,” Cream said in a statement.
“There is absolutely no clamor from the people to lift the coal moratorium. We want, instead, a clear policy that simply says: No more new coal-fired power plants,” it added.
For Mindanao, Cream looks to the rehabilitation of the Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants, which has a combined capacity of 1,000 megawatts, to ensure energy security that comes at a lower cost.
