ILOILO City – Customers of MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) may have been saddened by the power rate increase but they are finding solace on the fact that the power distributor’s reliable and efficient service is worth it.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas himself expressed satisfaction over MORE Power’s service. He thanked the power distributor for ensuring that the Iloilo City enjoys having one of the lowest electricity rates in the Visayas.
“I am certain that this is highly appreciated by the city residents especially during these times,” said Treñas.
The city mayor also shared that aside from excellent service, MORE Power collaborates in many areas with the city government – from fingerling dispersal to coronavirus vaccines, from the Office of the Building Official’s improvements to the digitization of city services and the like.
Atty. Eldrid Antiquiera of Grupo Konsumidor also lauded MORE Power’s pro-activeness.
“Very efficient service kag pro-active ang MORE Power with regards to attending consumers’ concerns. Dako ang nabulig sang nubo nga rate to consumers amid this coronavirus pandemic in the past year. Bisan nagsaka ang rate subong, bawi man sa maayo nga service,” said Antiquiera.
Boyet Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Owners and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA), also expressed satisfaction on MORE Power’s services. He likened the matter of rates to the drivers’ and operators’ situation – they requested for a fare hike especially if they are greatly affected by fuel price increases.
“Satisfied kami kay maayo ang serbisyo sang MORE. Kun may problema sa mga linya, pagtawag namon, ara dayon. Dako gid nga bulig nga napanubo nila sang nagligad nga 12 ka bulan kay bisan paano naka-save gid kmi. Bisan nagsaka subong, sulit gihapon ang serbisyo. Although damo gareklamo nga nagtaas ang presyo. Daw parehas man na sang diesel sa amon mga jeepneys,” Parcon said.
Several netizens and consumers of MORE Power also expressed their understanding on the need for a power rate hike.
Aside from being satisfied with MORE Power’s improved services, they are also thankful that in the last 14 months, they were able to save because it offered the lowest power rate.
“Thank you, MORE Power Iloilo. At least naka-save man kami, and at the same time thank you sa pag amat-amat repair sang mga daan nga poste kag update sa amon before kun may power outage,” said Jay Almalvez Demaisip.
Another netizen named Jenil Marpa Guanco said, “Nagtaas gid man tanan…alang-alang sila indi. Negosyo man ‘ni sila…pasalamat lang kay active and progressive ang MORE Power. Dako gid nga bulig ang digital payment channels nila. Subong two months di kabayad, utdan ka dayun which is good kaysa sang una mahulat anay tig four to five ka bulan before mag-notify, kundi bug-at na. It means updated sila ya sa mga accounts. And sa mga troubles, dasig mag-respond.”
“Sad news pero wala na gid man barato subong, and na-enjoy ta naman ang lower rates nila before and makita ta nga damo improvements ila service. I think this is fair lang…Wala man bi nila nagapangayo lang ang power supply. Mas barato gyapon ang MORE Power kumpra sa iban nga (electric) coop,” Facebook user Lottie Manalo echoed.
On the other hand, according to Niel Parcon, MORE Power‘s vice president for Corporate Planning and Regulatory, while rate hike is inevitable mainly due to the high coal prices in the global market coupled with the weakening of the peso against the dollar, MORE Power is finding ways to secure cheaper power sources to bring down the rate.
“For one, we had contracted 20MW from geothermal power of Energy Development Corp,” said Parcon.
He added that MORE Power also tasked a 24/7 trading team to monitor the pricing at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and will do the purchasing if there are cheaper offers therein.
Meanwhile, the Iloilo City-based Iloilo Business Club (IBC) also expressed satisfaction on how MORE Power exhausted all means to upgrade its system which resulted to efficient services.
“IBC is satisfied with what MORE Power has been doing like upgrading of your systems and better customer service,” the group said.
Amid the recent increase in the power rate and like what MORE Power is actually doing now, the business group highly encourages the power distributor to explore other sources of power alternatives such as renewable energy.
The group also noted that power distributors buy from a basket of power rates issued regularly by several producers. A bidding ensues and a rate price is agreed by the parties.
However, they believe, a more transparent transaction should be publicized among the consumers for them to have a deeper understanding of the power price hike.
“Electricity is no longer a commodity; it is more of a basic need to sustain and boost the economy. Therefore, it should be more affordable and accessible to everyone,” it added./PN
