Gov. Isidro Zayco yesterday said he hopes top energy officials who will meet with local officials and stakeholders today will have some solutions to the constant brownouts in Negros Occidental, especially in the Central Negros Electric Cooperative coverage area,   amid rising complaints from consumers.

Expected to arrive for the meeting at the Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City 6 p.m. today are Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, National Power Corp. president Cyril del Callar and National Transmission Commission president Arthur Aguilar

They will discuss mitigating measures to address the power situation in the Visayas grid, a DOE media advisory said.

If we identify problems at the meeting, hopefully, we can find solutions, Zayco said, noting that the brownouts are affecting businesses and Negrenses.

The Freedom from Debt Coalition-Negros in a statement yesterday, said it is skeptical about the DOE-initiated meeting to tackle the energy problems, particularly in Region 6.

It said that, in the first place, if the government really wants to solve the problem on energy, privatization of vital and profitable geothermal plants controlled by National Power Corp. in Region 6 is not the solution.

It also said that it is appalling that the government is willing to lose this potential huge amount of profit from these plants and consequently burden the consumers with inevitable electricity rate increase.

We are afraid that the DOE-initiated meeting will officially endorse the Kepco-Salcon Power Corp. coal-fired power contracts with Negros Occidental cooperatives as the solution to energy crisis in Visayas, it said.

The regular brown-outs in Bacolod and other franchise areas of CENECO might be a scenario-building to justify the energy crisis to make its contact with KSPC acceptable to electricity consumers, the group also said.

CENECO president Roberto Montelibano has denied such allegations.

The Provincial Environment Code of Negros Occidental specifies the province preference for renewable energy and, subsequently, the DOE indicated in its Renewable Energy Policy Framework that Negros Island is to be a model for renewable energy development and utilization, it pointed out.*CPG

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