As
“power crisis” in Mindanao heightens, augmentation of power generation by
burning coal has generated more support from both public officials and private
companies. As such, we have recently seen the proliferation of coal-fired power
plants in several areas in Mindanao.
In
Northern Mindanao, Lafarge Cement Corporation is applying to build a 20
megawatt (MG) coal-fired power plant in Kiwalan, Iligan City while the Ozamis
Power Generation Incorporated is also proposing to build a 300 MG coal plant in
Brgy. Pulot, Ozamis City. The biggest plant among the three is the one being
constructed between Brgy. Tacub and Brgy. Libertad in Kauswagan, Lanao del
Norte which has a generation capacity of about 540 megawatt.
This
proliferation of coal-fired power plant is vehemently opposed by Coal
Resistance Movement for the following reasons:
1.)
There
is no “power crisis” that is why there is no reason to build coal-fired power
plants in Mindanao.
During
the 5th Mindanao Power Monitoring Council (MPMC) Principals Meeting
on February 24, 2015, report from the National Grid Corporation (NGCP) showed
that the average forecasted power demands in Mindanao from the month of March
to June of this year pegged only at 1488 megawatt (MW). In the same report, the
combined generation capacity, on the same months, of Agus-Pulangi Hydro Power
Complexes, existing Independent Power Producers (IPPs), embedded plants from
distribution utilities, and generators owned by factories and malls has an
average total of 1910.7 MW.
MPMC
is a body created by President Aquino III through Executive Order No. 8 to spearhead
and coordinate the improvement of power situation in Mindanao.
Despite
the long dry-spell that is widely experienced in Mindanao, based on the data
presented by NGCP, there are at least 400 MW power surplus in Mindanao from the
month of March to June, 2015. Mindanao
Development Authority (MinDA), one of the ten (10) principal members of MPMC,
also affirmed that power supply in Mindanao is expected to have excess for this
year.
According
to MinDA, as of December 2014, there are 231 pending renewable energy (solar,
hydro, geothermal and biomass) power project applications in Mindanao that have
a potential generation capacity of at least 2,419 mw. The permits of these
applications are expected to be completed by 2016 and will be operational by
2020.
Given
the above data on the demand and supply of power in Mindanao, it is clear that
there is no power shortage. It is therefore necessary to anchor power
generation based on the current needs and actual consumption of the consumers
otherwise oversupply will further burden the consumers as the production cost
of the excess power supply will be charged to consumers.
The
data above also debunks speculation on “Power Crisis” that has been implanted
in the mind of the public in times of blackout.
The
adequate supply of power from the existing plants and the coming additional
supply from the renewable energy sources render coal-fired power plants useless
and unnecessary.
2.)
Coal-fired
power plant will destroy marine resources in Iligan and Panguil Bay and will
displace fisherfolks from their primary means of living.
It is important to note
that the above mentioned coal-fired power plants surround Iligan Bay and
Panguil Bay- two bodies of water which shelter several marine protected areas
and are homes to several unique endemic marine species. These bodies of water
sustain thousands of fisherfolks from the province of Misamis Oriental, Lanao
del Norte, Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Sur whose main source of living
is through fishing and other related livelihood.
Located
adjacent to Kiwalan and Dalipuga is the 45-hectare marine sanctuary officially
established by Iligan City through the Sangguniang Panglungsod Resolution No.
06-817. According to the resolution, the
location was chosen because “of the fact that this is far from residential
areas, and the sea habitat is conducive for the reproduction of fish, per
underwater assessment of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
(BFAR).”
There
are at least eight (8) marine sanctuaries located in the Municipality of
Kauswagan. Two of which are closest to Barangays Libertad and Tacub. A
6-hectare marine sanctuary strategically located beside the Municipal Wharf and
the other 2 hectares established in Barangays Bagumbayan and Libertad.
According to the record of the Municipality based on the assessment of
Kauswagan Coastal Environment conducted by DENR-ERDS Divers in 1195, “a total
of nineteen (19) genera of hard and soft corals were identified in coral reefs,
seven (7) species of Seagrasses, and about twenty one (21) hectares of mangrove
present in the coastal beaches and waters of Kauswagan.”
At present, the on-going construction of the
540 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte has already
displaced more than 400 fishefolk and farmer families from their houses and
livelihood.
3.)
Environmental degradation
Dubbed as the dirtiest source of energy,
coal industry is identified by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change
(IPCC) to produce the most- carbon intensive products. From its extraction from
the earth’s surface to its processing, coal is single biggest contributor to
the historical increase of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission in the atmosphere
since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Coal-fired power stations and all other activities that
include coal burning are as well recognized by the World Health Organization
(WHO) as the leading human activity to release mercury. Mercury is a toxic
substance. Once discharged in the bodies of water, it can be ingested by marine
organisms such as fish and shells which supply as one of the major components
of human diet. Mercury may cause serious health problems once eaten by
humans.
4.) Community Displacements and Assaults to Indigenous
Peoples
The above-mentioned construction and application for coal-fired power
plants situated in the natural bastions
for marine resources in Mindanao-the Iligan Bay and Panguil Bay. If these
plants will fully operate, marine resources will be denuded and thousands of
fisherolk families will lost their livelihood from 4 surrounding provinces and
4 cities.
Aside
from coal-fired power plants, coal mining is a thriving business in Mindanao.
According to the Energy Resource Development Bureau of the Department of Energy
(DOE), Mindanao is the country’s coal basin. In 2014, DOE opened the bidding to
15 areas in Mindanao for coal exploration.
Most
of the coal-reserves are found in the mountains in Mindanao. The remaining
mountains in Mindanao, however, are part the ancestral domains of the
Indigenous Peoples (IPs). Opening these
mountains for coal mining means three (3) things: 1. destroying the sacred
lands and ancestral domains of the IPs; 2. displacing the IPs from their
subsistence production; and, 3. stripping them out of their identity which is
very attached to their land.
Our Answers
- We remain certain of
communities and mass organizations’ valuable role in addressing energy
issues;
- We demand for total ban of
coal-fired power plants and coal projects in the Philippines and the
cancellation of permits of the existing ones;
- Transition program for the
affected workers of the existing coal plants and projects;
- We demand overhaul of the
Electric Power Reform Act of 2001 and the Renewable Energy Act of the
Philippines and Nationalize the Energy Sector with an Strengthen Renewable
Energy Law;
- We demand for reparations
for all coal-affected communities and for an independent and speedy
investigations to human rights abuses;
- We support the call for Energy
Transformation in the Philippines.
_______________________________
The Coal Resistance (CoRe) is a movement
established by various civil society organizations in Lanao del Norte, Lanao
del Sur and Iligan City against coal-fired power plant and any other processes
that demand for massive the extraction and or usage of coal minerals
Contact Nos.: 221-7393 / Hanna Escobido -
09358505283/Remo Fenis – 09202716138 /
Email: resistcoal@gmail.com / lmkabataan@yahoo.com.ph
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