PRESS RELEASE

OCTOBER 8, 2018

Groups to Congress: MURANG KURYENTE MUNA BAGO KAMPANYA!

Solons warned against supporting coal, asked to pursue clean, affordable energy

QUEZON CITY - As the election season nears, consumer groups and environmental advocates reminded
members of the House of Representatives of the public clamor against high electricity prices and dirty
energy.

Renewable energy advocates and MERALCO consumers from the Power for People (P4P) Coalition
stormed the gates of the House of Representatives to demand action and accountability on the increasing
price of electricity, and the backtracking of policies against coal and for renewable energy.

"We are here to echo the 89% of power consumers across the country who are demanding a shift from
dirty, costly energy from coal toward clean affordable renewable energy," said Center for Energy,
Ecology, and Development (CEED) Executive Director Gerry Arances. "Before members of the Congress
become busy with campaigning in the upcoming elections, we want to see them take meaningful steps to
address high electricity rates, which is owed to our dependence on imported and local coal."

Arances called coal "the costliest electricity source" in terms of the price being charged to consumers and
costs shouldered by host communities. "After years of affordable electricity when provinces from
Mindanao were heavily reliant on hydropower from Agus Pulangi, an overbuild of coal-fired powerplants
has caused Mindanao electricity prices to skyrocket," he mentioned.

"Meanwhile, the provisional Power Supply Agreement given to the Panay Energy Development
Corporation (PEDC) has left consumers paying up to 12 pesos per kilowatt hour, a consequence of this
PSA not having undergone the required competitive selction process (CSP)," Arances continued.

"Given our status as one of the countries at the forefront of the climate crisis, we must act to ensure that
our energy policies are consistent with our climate commitments," said Philippine Movement for Climate
Justice (PMCJ) National Coordinator Ian Rivera. "Thus, there is a need to hasten policy and regulatory
mechanisms that ensure clean and affordable renewable energy," he continued.

Rivera warned against proponents of coal using high prices to roll back on the imposition of a coal tax.
"Removing the tax on imported coal will only encourage coal investments to enter the country while
being gradually abandoned across the globe," said Rivera. "After the global recognition of coal as one of
the leading causes of climate change, removing the coal tax and therefore expanding the indirect subsidies
it receives from the government is a global embarassment and a huge step backward," he added.

Pro-coal legislators slammed

The Power for People Coalition also castigated members of the Congress for supporting coal, particularly
Quezon Representative Danilo Suarez for his proposal to add more coal to the country's power mix in
order to avert a “looming power shortage" in the country.
P4P Secretariat Head Erwin Puhawan called Suarez's remarks linking coal to avoiding blackouts as
"misleading and deceptive." "The need for more coal plants - according to Rep. Suarez - to avoid power
outages following successive yellow alerts declared in May is deliberately fooling the public," Puhawan
said. "Even if reserves are inadequate to cover the largest running generating unit at the time, it does not
necessarily lead to power outages. Moreover, empowering consumers to establish in their communities
affordable, distributed alternative energy sources from renewables would diminish the demand needed
from the national grid," he noted.

Sanlakas Secretary General Atty. Aaron Pedrosa slammed the Representative for misleading the public in
presenting the pending 1,200 MW Atimonan coal-fired power plant which has 'complied with all the legal
and administrative requirements,' even as the approval of its "anomalous" power supply agreement with
Meralco is still being contested by power consumers.

"Cong. Suarez is at it again with deceiving the public, even as he himself is witness to the lapses of
MERALCO and Atimonan One Energy (A1E) Corporation presented during the Congressional hearing
on their anomalous power supply agreement," said Atty. Pedrosa. "Aside from the fact that this contract
did not go through the process of public bidding to ensure the least-cost option for consumers, the fact
that MERALCO Generation (MGen) owns much of A1E gives them great leeway to raise electricity rates
to maximize their profits," Atty. Pedrosa continued.

Most recently, the Atimonan coal power station was given the status of Energy Project of National
Significance (EPNS), by virtue of the Executive Order 30 issued by President Duterte, allowing it to
fastrack necessary requirements in order to pursue construction and approval.

"Is this the kind of infrastructure program we will be expecting from the Duterte government?" Atty.
Pedrosa asked, given the issues of land encroachment, environmental destruction, and deception
surrounding the process of acquiring the Atimonan plant's Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

"The dirtiness of the 1,200 MW Atimonan power plant is not only in terms of its fuel, but in the process
by which it is being railroaded by its proponents - including Cong. Suarez," said Atty. Pedrosa. "The
potential of the power plant to bring clean, cheap electricity to ordinary consumers and prosperity to the
citizens of Atimonan is as fake and contrived as Cong. Suarez's claim that he represents the House
Minority," Pedrosa said.

For more inquiries, contact:

Vin Buenaagua, Media Liaison for P4P

0999 807 4057
vin.buenaagua@gmail.com

Gerry Arances, CEED

0977 840 6098
gerry.arances@gmail.com

Atty. Aaron Pedrosa, Sanlakas

0927 592 4830
aaron_pedrosa@yahoo.com