ILOILO City – MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) is not a mere power distributor here. It is a reliable partner of the city government in development, said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
“We all feel the improved services of MORE Power,” he pointed out amid a small increase in the power rate.
MORE Power implemented this month a 47 centavos per kWh additional on the distribution charge.
The Energy Regulatory Commission has given it provisional authority to recover its P1-billion emergency capital expenditures spent to rehabilitate decrepit facilities inherited from the previous distribution utility.
Still, MORE Power remains to have the lowest electricity rate in the country; its current average rate just runs around P8 per kilowatt hour.
Treñas said the lower rate coupled with the efficient service of the power utility is one of the things that help Iloilo City attract investors like business processing outsourcing (BPO) and real estate companies.
For the consumer group Koalisyon Bantay Kuryente, the little increase is reasonable given the efficiency and improvement MORE Power has delivered in its services.
“With continued improvements in the services of MORE Power, brownouts are significantly reduced. Hence, the 47 centavos increase from its current rate is quite reasonable,” said Halley Alcarde, president of the Koalisyon Bantay Kuryente and at the same time general manager of the Western Visayas Transport Cooperative.
Another consumer group, Grupo Konsumidor, understands the need for MORE Power to increase its rate.
“Considering the need to improve existing facilities in the light of the current global crisis, we at Grupo Konsumidor are of the view that a rate increase of 47 centavos per kWh is reasonable under the circumstances,” said Atty. Eldrid Antiquiera, president of Grupo Konsumidor.
Prices of electricity sourced out from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market increased due to the high cost of fuel and coal in the world market.
“Everything seems to be going up these days,” said Mayor Treñas. But he remains hopeful that “MORE will continue to source power from generators with low costs.”/PN
