With rotational brownouts affecting the public in recent days, a lawyer has sought for a probe into the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for failing to utilize its auxiliary reserves despite the public paying for the maintenance of such services.

Neri Colmenares, a lawyer for the National Union of People (NUP), questioned the NGCP for immediately resorting to power outages, further noting its seemingly lack of preparedness for the high demand of consumers during the summer season.

Colmenares asserted that consumers should not be blamed for such developments, particularly as they pay for electricity prices regardless of how expensive it gets.

“Ganito nalang bang kwento natin bawat summer tataas ang presyo ng kuryente tapos sisisihin ang consumer, ‘eh kasi tumataas yung demand niyo eh,’ o ‘di paghandaan niyo yan nagbabayad nga kami sainyo ng mahal eh,” he said during a radio interview.

(Will this be our story every summer, electricity prices will rise and consumers will be blamed, ‘Its because your demand is increasing,’ why don’t they prepare for these issues since we’re paying high prices to them)

In the past week, Luzon and Visayas were placed on red and yellow alert levels with brownouts hitting different areas in the respective regions causing varying damages to businesses and problems for the public.

The solon referred to the recent statement of the Department of Energy (DOE) wherein it mentioned that the NGCP had “transmission constraints,” this supposedly meant that the electrical company had sufficient supply and it was just its grid that had an issue.

As such issues repeatedly arise, the former Bayan Muna representative expressed that the corporation should be investigated so that all the questions of the public could be properly answered.

He added that such investigations should be made public instead of being limited to internal discussions within the institutions.

“Dinedemand namin sa Bayan Muna, eto pag nag imbestiga kayo we want the technical and non-technical explanation. Wag niyo na kami lituhin, may reserve, bakit hindi nagamit yung reserve?” he stated.

(Bayan Muna demands that the investigation be provided to the public in technical and non-technical explanations. Don’t try to confuse us, there is a reserve, why is it not being used?)

Colmenares reiterated that the public should not be continuously blamed for such issues and stated that laws should be put in place within the energy sector to safeguard the public from further challenges.