I
am telling this story anchored on an aphorism I posted in my Facebook Page today: “Power has its own story to tell and every
story has its own power when told.” But this is not just my reaction to our
present predicament of power shortage, this is also a product of my personal
reflection on being a writer and, you've guessed it right, a story-teller.
Aphorism oftentimes consist a metaphor, remember?
This
coming December 3, 2018, the power company called Energy World will be finally launching
their bid for the CSP to be presented to OMECO. This power company is just one
of the many prospective new players in the horizon. It looks forward for the
finalization of the Off-Take Agreement that would hopefully pave the way for the
building of a plant somewhere in Sablayan if no trouble (of whatever nature)
would exist in the process. Sablayan LGU had already signed a MOU with Energy
World regarding the construction of the plant within the jurisdiction.
According to people from Energy World, due to its geographical location, the
municipality is ideal in supplying power in the whole of Occidental Mindoro.
The company is using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in their operation as fuel.
They have plants in Australia and Indonesia and here in the Philippines, they
have a service utility in Pagbilao, Quezon. Be reminded that I am in no way
endorsing said company and this is a statement of fact.
Led
by Mayor Eduardo B. Gadiano, concerned heads of the legislative and executive
branches of the Municipal LGU visited the plant, and for their part, Energy
World already started to conduct prospecting for the plant site since the
informal partnership was last year. While the Energy World renewed commitment
for its realization, the town’s local chief executive made the same commitment whoever
would provide sustained, affordable and reliable energy for the province. We
hope that in due time, many players will ultimately be considered to
provide power and energy in this doomed part of the planet, power supply-wise.
Electricity
is life. Without access to reliable power, our lives would be much more like being
sent back to the Stone Age, as one Facebook user used to post it. Needless to say, it
is so crucial to modern life, in fact, the history of electricity is
really the history of the modern world.
This
writer is not pinning all out hope on the realization of the proposed project of Energy
World because as we all know, there are still a lot of legal and technical processes
to hurdle before this could come to fruition. Nothing in the industry works
like magic. Also, it is expected that a lot of peripheral things will come
along the way like partisan politics, vested interests of the local elites, to
name just two.
I
am relating this not to fully expect its realization for it may bring us false
hope. It is still a long, long way but what I am just trying to emphasize is
there is an on-going progression with regards to the application of possible
power (preferably “clean” energy) providers in the future for our province and
this one, too, has a chance to remedy the decades-long power supply problem in our locality. Moreover, it is necessary for every concerned citizen and OMECO member-consumers
to be aware of every bidding process which unfolds every now and then. The
electric cooperative likewise needs to be very transparent on everything under the
bulb, so to speak. The bidders should also be scrutinized and skinned like a
jack fruit by the member-consumers in general. The local politicians should be
aware of the limits of their authority and power with regards to intervening in
the problem specifically in the operations of the electric cooperative.
I
am not zeroing-in on Energy World alone or any in existing or other forthcoming
specific power providers for that matter. That wouldn’t be my story line ever. I
am out of the loop in legal and technical aspects of this situation. My story
is all I can offer.
The
issue of problem of power and energy has certain implication to one’s candidacy
for sure to those who are occupying or struggling to get a political
position especially the provincial slots. It is clear that this issue could again make
or unmake political careers. With high expectation, this issue is domineering to be in the front lines in every miting de avance in due
time.
Since
the time of Thomas Edison, the electricity industry is already politicized. Before
Pearl Street (his pioneering streetlight project) ever opened, Edison had to
bribe New York politicians just to begin laying the foundations of his work. As
Time magazine recounts, Edison “obtained
with great difficulty the consent of New York’s famously corrupt city
government to build his proposed network on the southern tip of Manhattan.”
As the early electricity industry grew, it became more involved with city
politics over lighting contracts. Electricity providers had to receive
franchise rights from city officials in order to serve local areas, opening the
door for those officials to extort power companies for campaign contributions
or personal bribes. Who says it’s a different story now? I am mentioning this
with the national situation in mind.
In
going back, some may say that this and all the proposals are just “drawings”,
far-fetched. Well, even drawings, and not only stories, have power. If one is
not moved by the power of stories and images, one could not be a story-teller (or
a witness) of his time, therefore, he cannot transcend from darkness to light….
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Photo:
Concept News Central
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