ILOILO City – MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) signed a five-year contract with geothermal power supplier First Gen – Energy Development Corp. (EDC). Its goal is to lessen the impact of the increasing cost of coal-based power.
The supply contract was signed on June 27 in Pasig City by MORE Power president Roel Castro, First Gen vice president for power marketing and trading Carlos Vega, and VP for business development of EDC Marvin Bailon.
Starting July 26, or once the Energy Regulatory Commission approves the contract, Iloilo City’s sole power distributor will purchase 20 MW of geothermal power from EDC, where it will serve as a mid-merit load.
Because its one-year contract with the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) will end on July 25, MORE Power sought other power suppliers.
On April 26, 2MORE Power held a Competitive Selection Process so it could buy cheaper renewable energy. EDC won out of the three bidders which participated.
The partnership excites Castro because it aligns with MORE Power’s vision.
“We’d like to have green energy as part of our portfolio, as well as making it affordable to our consumers,” said Castro.
Because of the high price of coal in the world market which increases generation rates being passed through to the end consumers, green energy is now considered one of the most reliable and affordable energy compared to coal-based power.
MORE Power will soon purchase its 45 MW baseload from the two coal-based power generators that won as the cheapest in their Competitive Selection Process conducted in August last year.
The price of coal in the world market at that time was only 90 US dollars per metric ton but now it increased to an average of 400 US dollars per metric ton due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“With the volatility of the world prices of fuel commodity, renewable energy will be the savior of our consumers. One thing good about it is that it’s not volatile. It is not indexed. So whatever happens to the world market, the price gets insulated. The consumers also benefit from that,” said Castro.
The Chief Executive Officer of MORE Power is hoping they will be able to buy an additional supply with EDC to have a sustainable, cost-efficient yet quality and environment-friendly power source for its consumers.
Castro further stressed that they are doing everything and keep on thinking more strategies on how to give their customers affordable rates amidst the crisis in the world market and ensure the delivery of reliable power and efficient service.
On the part of EDC, Vega is thankful because, after a decade, the Lopez-owned power generation company will be able to supply the electricity in Iloilo City.
“After a decade, we are so happy to be here welcoming this partnership with you towards a cleaner renewable energy for the consumers of Iloilo,” said Vega./PN
