BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson revealed on Thursday morning future plans to have joint venture agreements between local government units (LGUs) and local power suppliers, especially those supplying renewable energy.
According to Lacson, the plan came out during the Energy Summit on Oct. 5, jointly organized by the city government of Bacolod and the provincial government of Negros Occidental with three electric cooperatives in the province, the business sector and some investors.
The governor learned that with joint ventures between LGUs and power suppliers, they can directly negotiate with electric cooperatives.
Issues faced by the industry were also discussed at the summit, especially the expensive power rates, which is one of the burdens shouldered by the consumers.
“It turns out that the majority of the power sources are coal, which is expensive. That’s why power bills are jacking up now. We are really at the mercy of the cost of energy right now,” Lacson pointed out.
He also said that while the province has a sufficient source of renewable power coming from solar energy, it is only good for six to seven hours. That is why LGUs need to secure batteries, and that’s where the joint venture agreement comes in.
“So we have to see the numbers, how much it would cost, especially the LGUs in this joint venture, but this is for the future as a way of bringing down the cost of energy,” the governor added./PN
