BY ADRIAN STEWART CO and GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
MANILA – The Senate has put the final nail on the coffin of Panay Electric Company (PECO) as power distribution utility in Iloilo City. On third and final reading yesterday, senators unanimously approved the franchise of More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power).
PECO’s un-renewed franchise is set to expire on Jan. 19, 2019.
Ilongga senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate public services committee, believed MORE Power would deliver efficient service that Iloilo City residents longed for.
“There were many complaints that PECO failed to give good service, their assets did not improve, and even the power distribution which triggered brownouts. They have also been charging high rates which were not appropriate,” Poe said.
On the other hand, she said, senators “found MORE Power very much capable of providing and supplying the electricity needed by the Ilonggos.”
“The Senate supports the House of Representatives’ giving of franchise to MORE Power,” she added.
Poe said senators thoroughly scrutinized the capacity of MORE Power as a new electricity distribution company and found it to have sufficient capital and capability to take over PECO’s job in Iloilo City.
With the Senate done passing the franchise bill, a bicameral committee will be convened to settle all the issues, including the proposed two-year transition period from PECO to MORE Power.
After both the House and Senate versions of the bill are unified, it will be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte for signing.
‘CHANGE IS COMING’
While senators were busy discussing on third and final reading MORE Power’s franchise application yesterday in the Senate, the company’s officials were in Iloilo City presenting to the Sangguniang Panlungsod its plans and programs for the metro.
MORE Power president Roel Castro vowed better service to city residents.
Specifically, he said, they aim to reduce the systems loss from the current 9.30 percent to below the loss cap set by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Castro said MORE Power would also improve power reliability from 31.15 times (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) to the Philippine Standard of 2.4 times, and 1,162 minutes of SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) to the Philippine standard of 54 minutes.
MORE Power would also increase the power substation capacity such that they do not exceed 70 percent normal loading; correct all unsafe electrical installations; and correct voltage quality to within +/-10 percent at 230 volts, added Castro.
To realize these objectives, Castro said, MORE Power would rehabilitate and uprate the secondary system (230V), repair distribution transformer installations, and install fault indicators.
They would also rehabilitate the 13.8 kV primary lines and add substation capacity, he added.
To reduce systems loss, MORE Power is poised to do immediate rehabilitation of metering points and service drops (230V) and wage an anti-power pilferage campaign.
The company also vowed to correct dilapidated and unsafe primary (13.8kV) and secondary poles and lines (230V), and clear poles in coordination with telecommunications and cable television companies.
For all of these, Castro said, MORE Power is ready to invest P700 million.
As to power supply security and rate, Castro said MORE Power would initially, for a period of one year, have a negotiated procurement of emergency power supply. He said this is expressly allowed by the Department of Energy.
He also bared that MORE Power already solicited offers from most power generations in the Visayas.
For the power rate reduction, Castro said MORE Power would target majority of its power requirements from new bilateral contracts and will source considerable capacity of the requirements from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), especially when market prices are low.
Castro said MORE Power would also explore contracting supply from renewable energy sources which are free from the value-added tax.
On the customer care aspect, MORE Power is eyeing banks and other payment centers as collecting agents./PN
