WELL…well, how time flies when things fall into place and they go your way, especially if the universe is on your side.
In a letter dated Feb. 14, 2019 Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea informed Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that the President had signed Republic Act No. 11212. President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law granting MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) a 25-year power distribution franchise in Iloilo City.
And that was three years ago. Monday last week, Feb. 14, 2022, marked the day change came to “I Am Iloilo City” and indeed it was a change for the better and definitely more things to come.
Officially, MORE Power took over the power distribution facilities of Panay Electric Co. (PECO) one year and five days after the law was signed.
Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 23, issued a Writ of Possession dated Feb. 20, 2020 ordering the court sheriff “to place MORE Power in possession” of PECO’s identified power distribution properties for expropriation.
Then MORE Power took over and the first order of business was a massive overhaul and rehabilitation of the power distribution infrastructure left by PECO.
And we have this: MORE Electric and Power Corp. embarked on its first major investment critical to the modernization of its distribution system in “I Am Iloilo City”. The company recently energized a 10-megavolt ampere (MVA) mobile substation at the Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao District.
The power company allocated more than P2 billion as emergency capital budget to further upgrade the distribution system in the city.
And within the next five years MORE Power will embark on a “stream of capacity expansion” that will see the addition of a 30MVA mobile substation, a new 50 MVA substation at another end of the Iloilo Business Park, and new substations in Arevalo District and Diversion area as well as the expansion of the City Proper and Jaro substations.
There will also be the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Molo substation from a 25/30 MVA to a new 36 MVA mobile substation; the City Proper substation from a 20 MVA substation to a 30/36 MVA substation, including the proposed new Megaworld 30/36 MVA substation; and a new 69kV switching station in Banuyao, La Paz which was energized last May 26. This move allowed the power company to find the best power supply rate for Iloilo City.
In fulfillment of its “campaign promise”, MORE Power was able to bring down the power rate in Iloilo City to P6. 38 per kHw, not only the lowest electricity rate in the country but also sourced 100% from renewable energy.
MORE Power has started installing Automatic Circuit Recloser (ACR) a type of switchgear used in overhead electricity distribution networks to detect and interrupt momentary faults. These ACRs costing about P2 million / unit are designed to reduce power interruption caused by transient faults such lighting strikes, surges or foreign objects i.e. birds , geckos, snakes and deliberately thrown objects coming to contact with the exposed distribution lines.
There are outages or brownouts that are deliberately caused by ilegalistas in order to have a window of opportunity so they can safely connect their illegal wire taps. The reclosers automatically restore power to the affected area, effectively shutting the door on these power thieves. So besides the actual running after these illegal jumpers and resellers more Automatic Circuit Recloser or ACR are installed in these areas mentioned to further thwart them.
Of course MORE Power is more than just a distribution utility. According to Mayor Jerry Treñas, it is a partner in the city’s development.
In the words of Nong Moroy himself:
“It has been three years since we started serving this wonderful city. During this time, we have helped communities, energized homes, and empowered advocates in the city. And now, we want to celebrate our 3rd anniversary by giving back to our planet.
“Our green initiatives and sustainability efforts aim to help our environment: from mangrove and tree planting, to releasing fingerlings, and even urban gardening, we want to play our part in making the planet a better place for the future generation.
“Each action we make today brings us closer to a greener tomorrow.
“With MORE power comes great sustainability!”
So three years after, this we can say: Things are not only looking good but brighter as well, and we can expect more and the best to come for the natives of “I Am Iloilo City”. So more power to MORE Power./PN
