MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assured the public on Monday of government plans and strategies to tame power prices amid the current high demand for electricity.

The President made the remarks during a media interview in Pikit, Cotabato, saying there is no artificial crisis in the power sector. What the country has, according to him, is a power system overload due to the dry spell.

The government is continuously monitoring the situation because of the surge in demand, the President said, assuring the people that the government will carry out measures to control electricity prices.

“Ang naging consumption natin biglang tumaas talaga dahil napaka init. Kaya’t nakabantay kami ng husto. Kaya naman nagkakaroon ng problema sa mga iba’t ibang sistema kaya namin tinututukan,” President Marcos told reporters.

“At ‘yung pagtaas ng [presyo]— mayroon kaming mga plano, mga strategy para hindi na magtaas ng presyo ng kuryente. At least for now, in this crisis time,” he said.

One of the current thrusts, he said, is urging the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to build the transmission lines that it promised to boost much-needed electricity especially in areas not connected to the grid.

The President was in Cotabato to lead the inauguration of the Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Stage II (MMIP II). (PND)