THIS PROVERB has been used since the 1980s and it simply means that to achieve something worthwhile you have to work for it and pay your dues so to speak. This has been popular with athletes and artists but it can also be applied to life in general and in business particularly.
How it applies to life is that in order to get or receive something worthwhile quality wise, be it in goods or services you should be willing to pay a little more.
And this is where our story begins;
Let’s start with the good news first, MORE Power president Roel Castro announced that the company will have an additional P1.1 billion investment for modernization after approval of its latest budget.
MORE Power started with P1.9 billion in Emergency Capital Expenditures when it took over as Iloilo city’s power distribution utility way back in 2020.
With this additional investment, it brings to a total the company’s investment to P3 billion for “I Am Iloilo City”.
Good news indeed and with more capital investments means more modernization and rehabilitation projects to bring the power distribution system up to par with the 21st century.
The additional P1.1 billion is just timely as MORE Power had already spent almost P1 billion from the P1.33 billion initial capital mainly rehabilitating the city’s power distribution network.
That CAPEX budget was used specifically rehabilitation of power substations, procure additional 10MVA Mobile substation at Megaworld, and replacement of around 20,000 defective meters, 600 distribution transformers, and 2,000 old posts.
These improvements dramatically reduced unscheduled power interruptions and ensured Ilonggos with reliable power supply.
MORE Power was also able to lower systems loss from 28 percent to just seven percent through an aggressive campaign against power pilferage i.e. Oplan Valeria.
With this additional capital, three more substations will be added anticipating the increasing power demand of the city specifically at Megaworld and Arevalo district while the other mobile substation will be used to further rehabilitate the existing substations.
All these substations and feeders will then be connected in a looping system with a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems installed for a digital operations/monitoring of “I Am Iloilo City’s” power distribution.
Of course, all these modern innovations to make life better for the consumer come at a price a shared burden for a reliable power supply.
Excerpts from the June 13, 2022 issue of Panay News:
A little rate increase for a much better power service
Beginning next month, the electricity rate in this city will increase by 47 centavos.
This is a small price to pay for a much better power service.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved MORE Electric and Power Corporation’s (MORE Power) application for rate increase to recoup expenses in the improvements introduced to power distribution services here, said Niel Parcon, the power firm’s Corporate Planning and Regulatory Affairs head.
The ERC order approving the 47-centavo increase per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of Distribution, Supply and Metering (DSM) rate was dated June 8, 2022.
Despite the increase in the total average rate, MORE Power’s Parcon said they remain to have the lowest power rate in the country; its new rate will just run around P8 per kilowatt hour if implemented next year.
And that’s the bad news but as our title says; “No pain, no gain”, it’s an insignificant price to pay for quality service, efficient and reliable power distribution utility.
Take note that like the price of oil, geopolitics plays a big role in also affecting the rates of electricity.
All these is still part of the changes for the better, after all, “I Am Iloilo City” has been for almost a century under the clutches of former power distribution utility the defunct PECO whose only motivation was to bleed the natives dry for profit charging exorbitant power rates double the current rate of MORE Power operating an obsolete, dilapidated power distribution system with an almost non-existent customer service.
Don’t worry folks; we’re still alright, despite the minimal increase of 47 centavos bringing the new rates hovering between P8 to P9 per kilowatt hour when implemented it is still a far cry from current rates of other power distribution utilities which hovers from a low of P10 per kilowatt hour to a high of P14 per kilowatt hour.
Plus there’s the assurance of MORE Power that they will continue to look for better meaning much lower rates in the open market.
At the end of the day, “I Am Iloilo City’s” MORE Power still remains to have the lowest electricity rates in the country./PN
