ILOILO City – In the recent 31st Visayas Area Business Conference organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Ormoc City, Leyte with a theme “From Setbacks to Comebacks: Getting Business Back on Track”, MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) wowed businessmen of the Visayas region with how it turned around electricity distribution in Iloilo City in the past two years and a half.
Invited to speak in front of almost a thousand delegates, Roel Castro, the president and chief executive officer of MORE Power, discussed the distribution utility’s story and how it is a perfect example of the conference theme which focused on innovations for sustainable energy supply toward a cost-effective and efficient energization.
Castro talked about the challenges and the things MORE Power did to transform not only the system but also the services to consumers.
He walked through his presentation with the audience on how MORE Power was able to turn around everything coming from a setup of very high system loss, dilapidated and neglected facilities, dangerously overloaded systems, and high electricity rates.
“There was no magic but there were five things we think we have. First is financial capability. To rehabilitate the facilities, increase capacity and reliability, prepare for automation via a digital platform, and continuously train personnel, we need to invest. And we have invested over P1.3 billion so far,” Castro initially highlighted.
“The second critical aspect is technical capability. We recruited personnel with a high level of integrity and technical expertise, and employed reputable contractors with long technical experience. Next is to have an innovative mindset. Another important factor is to be socially responsible which I think is second nature to MORE Power,” Castro enthusiastically elaborated.
He explained: “We did this by optimizing the use of renewable energy and non-indexed sources by consciously looking for facility and process solutions that would bring less destruction to the environment, and by constantly inculcating the benefits of sustainability to employees and other stakeholders.”
Serving as panelists and reactors were Leyte 4th District congressman Richard Gomez; Carlos Vega of First Gen Corporation; Quintin Pastrana of WEnergy Power Pilipinas; and Felix Taguiam of Decoline Inc.
Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida, Regional Governor of PCCI Region 6, was very ecstatic about the turnout of the business conference.
“We are truly proud of Mr. Roel Castro’s presentation on what MORE Power has accomplished for Iloilo City in just a little over two years. They have greatly improved the facilities and services as well as significantly decreased the cost of electricity. Snd they did it all during the pandemic,” said Peñaflorida.
He took notice of how all the other chambers in the Visayas wanted to replicate the success story of Iloilo.
“MORE Power’s strides in the power distribution sector are reflective of the continuing efforts of Iloilo to harness public-private partnerships as we all aim to recover together,” Peñaflorida concluded.
Iloilo PCCI president Fulbert Woo described MORE Power’s presence in Iloilo as “one of the ideals if not superb”, particularly the company’’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts./PN
