ILOILO City – These past two years MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) has impressed local leaders, business groups and power consumers with its capability and efficiency. Mayor Jerry Treñas said he is “more than very satisfied” with the performance of the city’s power distributor.
On Feb. 28, 2022 MORE Power celebrated the second anniversary of its operation.
“We are very happy with the performance of MORE Power,” said Treñas as he congratulated the power firm.
The city government saved a lot with MORE Power having the one of the lowest electricity rates in the country, he revealed.
“Ang MORE Power kadaku gid sang nabulig that’s why ang amon subong ginaobra ni (City Administrator) Melchor (Tan) upod kay (City Engineer) Badong (Pedregosa) is identify more areas nga pabutangan streetlights because kadako sang savings ta sa kuryente,” Treñas said.
Iloilo City is very lucky to be the community served by MORE Power with utmost dedication as a public utility, he stressed.
“I look forward to more years of strong partnership with MORE Power as we work to bring Iloilo City to its highest level possible,” added Treñas.
Prior the entry of MORE Power to Iloilo City, the previous power distributor was under fire. Consumers complained of frequent unannounced brownouts and unresponsive customer service, among others.
With MORE Power, consumers do not only enjoy lower rates; they are also assured of reliable power supply and fewer power interruptions.
MORE Power president Roel Castro said these service improvements are mainly because they have invested over P1 billion for new facilities and equipment in line with their modenization program.
The city’s sole power distributor was able to install 206 Animal Guards and 177 sets of Silicone Rubber Insulators. It has also installed 31 Automatic Circuit Reclosers (ARCs) and six Load Break Switches (LBS) which avert over 70 percent of instantaneous causes of brownouts / power interruptions in the feeders.
Meanwhile, Executive Director Francis Gentoral of business organization Iloilo Local Economic Development (ILED), Inc. lauded MORE Power’s efficiency.
“In general, you can count on them when you need them,” said Gentoral, citing MORE Power’s quick response time to unplanned power outages, even during unholy hours.
The Iloilo Business Club (IBC) also congratulated MORE Power and thanked it for consistently delivering efficient electricity to the public.
Robert Alor, general manager of Grand Xing Imperial Hotel, said the presence of MORE Power in the city is something that electricity consumers and the business sector are thankful for.
“It is really good for the business sector and the people of Iloilo. When it comes to service kadasig gid. Kon may problema, matawag ka sa ila mga hotline numbers, kadasig. Personally na-experience ko na sa balay sang nag-brownout. Wala gani 20 minutes ara dayun ang ila patrol. Nakit-an gid naton ang difference sang service (from the previous power distributor)….we hope ma-continue ina,” said Alor.
On the business side, Alor noted that lower power rates are a big help.
“Previously, magbayad kami sang kruyente, kadaku daku gid. Pero pagsulod sang MORE Power kag may mga adjustments na, kadaku man sang ginbuhin. So very happy gid kami sa muna nga aspect. Kadako sang bulig sa business side,” said Alor.
Meantime, 61-year-old Marilou Sumbing, an electric consumer from Barangay Calubihan, Jaro district, expressed satisfaction with the improved power distribution services since MORE Power took over.
She observed that MORE Power trouble shooters are quick to respond “unlike before sang wala pa sila.”
“Tapos if there are scheduled power interruptions, on-time pagbalik sang power. Kon kaisa mas early pa sa schedule,” said Sumbing.
She said she also enjoys the lower power rates of MORE Power and this really helped her save money.
Sumbing also took note of the humanitarian side of MORE Power; it gave consumers affected by Typhoon Odette a grace period to pay their due bills.
On the other hand, Treñas also noted MORE Power’s several aids to Iloilo City as its corporate social responsibility.
According to Treñas, MORE Power donated COVID-19 vaccines, a storage freezer, computer sets for the city’s Office of the Building Officials (OBO) for fast processing of building permits for private establishments, and just recently, hundreds of Bulgan juveniles which were released in the Iloilo River.
The releasing of fingerlings was part of MORE Power’s #DoMORE Initiatives in line with the celebration of its anniversary.
“We strive to be more than just an electric utility distributor for the city,” MORE Power said in a statement.
For their month-long anniversary celebration on February 2022, MORE Power partnered with Partners in Power Foundation and launched #DoMORE Initiatives anchored on the theme, “With MORE Power comes Great Sustainability.”
These initiatives included an anniversary mass at the Jaro Cathedral on Feb. 15 followed by a bloodletting activity on Feb. 15 in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross.
MORE Power began its first green initiative last year and continued it this year with a mangrove planting activity at the Iloilo Esplanade 7 on Feb. 16, and another tree planting activity on Feb. 17 at the Global Business Power – Eco Park in Barangay Ingore, La Paz. The power firm’s goal is to plant 2,000 trees by the end of 2022.
With the desire also to give more focus to urban farming/gardening, MORE Power turned seeds over to local farmers in Iloilo City on Feb. 18.
They also provided a venue for local farmers to promote and sell their produce through a Sunday Farmer’s Market on Feb. 19.
MORE Power concluded its month-long celebration on Feb. 28 by releasing a total of 730 juvenile fishes in the Iloilo River, equivalent to the number of days that they have been operating in Iloilo City and serving the Ilonggos.
As part of its advocacy to environment protection, MORE Power also replaced its power and distribution transformers with non-Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB’s) or non-toxic oil./PN
