Senator Raffy “Idol” Tulfo is calling for the investigation of the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (NORDECO) to prove its negligence and hold it accountable for the power outages in the Island Garden City of Samal, which is now under a state of calamity.
“Sunod-sunod na energy crisis na ang nararanasan sa ating bansa. Matapos sa Occidental Mindoro at Panay Island, ngayon naman sa Samal Island!” he said.
“Sa darating na hearing sa Committee on Energy sa Miyerkules, May 24, 2023, tatalakayin ang usapin hinggil sa energy crisis sa Samal Island at pananagutin ang may kapabayaan at mahanapan ng pangmatagalang solusyon,” Tulfo said.
“Pero sa lumilitaw ngayon, ang NORDECO umano ang ugat ng kapalpakan dahil sa sintanda na ng kanilang mga ninuno ang naghihikahos na submarine cable doon na hindi pa napapalitan,” he added.
On average, the power outage in the area lasts up to 8 hours during peak load and 2-3 hours during off peak hours daily. This has been going on since last year, residents have said.
They said NORDECO apparently failed to prepare for the increase in electricity demand in the area, considering that before the island became a tourist spot, the lack of electricity on it was unnoticed.
Now that Samal Island is frequented by tourists, its peak demand went up from 3 megawatts (MW) to 9MW due to the rise of establishments such as resorts, restaurants, and markets.
Samal is connected to the Pantukan Grid via a 1-km submarine cable to Davao City owned by NORDECO, which has not upgraded the connection since the 1980s or at least 43 years ago, and can no longer cover the entire capacity of the island.
NORDECO is proposing to build a 15-kilometer submarine cable costing P1.5 billion to connect Samal and Pantukan town.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has since stated that it has not approved the proposal, and NORDECO has not filed for approval for this capital expenditure.
Presently, the Mindoro Grid Corporation (MGC) can provide 6.962MW electricity to the island, while NORDECO can provide 3MW. In total, there is only 6.12MW supply to the island with a demand of 9MW.
NORDECO, formerly known as Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DANECO), has been reportedly criticized by its consumer cooperatives for its failure to provide a stable power supply to its area coverage.
Th NORDECO rate is around P3 to P4 more expensive compared to neighboring areas, reports have shown. Aside from Samal, NORDECO also serves other municipalities in Northern Davao — which are also suffering from poor service, residents there have reported.
As such, Tulfo, the senator from Isabela and Davao, underscored the need to ensure there would be a provision in the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) requiring replacement power, through modular generator sets, for all power providers to ensure reliable electric service.
The said agreement, he said, should also include the requirement for a “causer’s pay” clause so the consumers will not be required to pay for gensets. In turn, the party with mistakes are the ones responsible to pay for power service, the senator added.
