Inadequate

FIRST PERSON

- ALEX MAGNO

Businesses do not follow the roads. They follow the electric grid. Modernity always translates into increased power usage.

The reason is simple. If there is unreliable power supply, any business becomes unsustainable.

That fact becomes more emphatic if we seek to build a manufacturing base for our economy. Factories require vast amounts of electric power—reliable and uninterrupted. Even relatively small tourism-oriented enterprises require continuous power supplies.

Take the case of Samal Island in Davao. It is a tourist paradise that has everything—except reliable power supply. The electric cooperative supplying the island does not have the capacity to ensure abundant and continuous power supply. As a result, long blackouts caused the tourist establishments there to fail.

In most parts of the archipelago, power is distributed by small electric cooperatives. They often use outdated technology and do not have access to capital needed to upgrade their services. Unable to deliver sufficient power, they interrupt services during a large part of the day.

Where power is distributed by small electric cooperatives, the community cannot expect to receive investments for manufacturing plants or even tourism-oriented enterprises. If these cooperatives cannot fully supply their residential client base, it will be impossible for them to support manufacturers. The areas they serve will simply stagnate.

Areas that cannot quickly upgrade their power distribution services cannot keep up with the growth of the larger economy. They will be left behind.