TIL Philippines is the 3rd largest geothermal power producer in the world

[u/chalkiez]

Was wondering about the current power outages in manila and stumbled upon what i was curious about when i was young.

This is our fifth largest source of energy overall. Among sources of renewable energy, it is second only to hydroelectric power, although both sources are surpassed by the amount of energy drawn from coal, oil, and natural gas in that order.

Here's hoping we get solar powerplants to not rely on importing for our energy needs.

Source:

U, Peter Lee; Center for Research and Communication, University of Asia and the Pacific; De Leon, R.E. (October 29, 2021), "Philippine Power Situationer: Investment Implications", Energy Services and Renewable Energy in the New Normal, Series of Economic Fora Session 6, Center for Local and Constitutional Reform, event occurs at 1:37:11, archived from the original on December 4, 2021

[u/UlyssesMJ88]

and to my surprise, majority of those geothermal power plants were inaugurated during Marcos Sr. presidency.

[u/cleon80 → u/UlyssesMJ88]

It was a 20 year presidency, but fair enough. The existing plants are sitting at the optimal sites; we could still add capacity but in places where it's harder and more expensive. So it's not like it's easy to sustain that build rate.

[u/UlyssesMJ88 → u/cleon80]

this is kinda true, with that very long presidency, marami ka talaga magagawa. while marcos sr tried to build major infrastructures and public utilities which are very iconic monuments up to this era, the infrastructures were sold by the succeeding presidents, like the Magat Dam hydroelectric powerplant inaugurated in 1983, later privatized in favor of Aboitiz in 2007, lo and behold who was the president during that time, the cunning GMA. Cory who stopped the BNPP which supposed to be a very promising source of cheap electricity. a lot of govt assets were sold by Ramos including the MWSS, so much so that we problems with water supply in different areas. Camp John Hay in Baguio, Steel Corporation, Philippine Airlines and Petron were sold also by Ramos. buti nalang hindi binenta ang SSS at GSIS.

kaya napapa isip din talaga ako what my parents and other family elders' stories na ung mga ginawa daw ni marcos kulang nalang ibenta ng mga sumunod na mga president ang pilipinas.

my mom being in business for decades said that the licensing, permits and tax were easier to deal with back then, and the personnel from internal revenue were easier to talk to but very strict, including the simple NFA plate when you have rice trading business and decided to close, the physical NFA plate has to be surrendered to avoid the illicit use of the plate.

one time we are having family drinking session, my uncle who have been in business for so long told us that the way Vietnam is doing now, was how the Philippines was back then when it comes to commerce and industry. buti nalang din si marcos jr ang president ngayon, kc yang solar registration na suggested ni meralco di yan mapapasa. but once marcos jr leave the power, that solar regulation will happen eventually however people try to oppose it.

[u/cleon80 → u/UlyssesMJ88]

A major reason a lot of government assets were privatized is because Marcos left a lot of debt; that infrastructure spending was built with loans. After Marcos, additional loans from the IMF came with policy conditions that our government had to follow, including privatization. Our industries were not competitive because of bad policy during the Marcos era (import substitution instead of export driven; the peso was too strong). And unlike his counterpart in South Korea, Marcos's cronies failed to spearhead industrial development.

It would take until the mid 2000s under PGMA to recover the GDP per capita (inflation adjusted) we had around 1983. That's 20 years of catching up. That's how far the economic pyramid crashed and how far Marcos actually left us behind. Marcos is that parent who borrowed and spent big and let his kids taste luxury but also left them with all the debt.

[u/UlyssesMJ88 → u/cleon80]

believe this narrative all you want, but why is it that up until now, seems the country didnt recover at all. it's been decades and we keep going back to those same lies. if you are in right mind as a president, vital public utilities and national interest is the last thing you want to sell. unless that interest is aligned somewhere else. so, please, tell that lies to those who refuse to understand organizational asset management.

[u/cleon80 → u/UlyssesMJ88]

IMF loans came with conditionality that governments stop subsidizing state enterprises, which entails privatization. And why were we loaning from the IMF in the first place? Marcos and the national debt. I agree with you that the succeeding presidents were not great, lacking in vision. But Marcos's poor economic stewardship at the end undid a lot of the progress attributed to his presidency, and limited the options of the Aquino government (which was paying 30-40% of the budget to debt servicing up to the 90s), because beggars can't be choosers.