MORE Power is not just a distribution utility or electric company in Iloilo City; it is a partner of the city government for the development of our beloved city. – Mayor Jerry Treñas
Indeed, how can we dispute that if the chief executive of a highly urbanized and probably the fastest growing city in the Philippines despite the pandemic (and to add, now the best city and the safest in the country) says that as they say “you can’t fight city hall”.
Of course, there will always be the skeptics together with the noisy irritants that will question and try to belittle that. No problem, we’ll put facts and figures not into Mayor Jerry’s mouth but in this column.
And we start with these excerpts from the March 24, 2022 issue of Inquirer.net:
MORE Power Corp.’s P1.9-B investment showing results in Iloilo
Iloilo City’s power distribution network has seen vast improvements as a P1.9-billion investment for modernization efforts is starting to produce results, MORE Electric and Power Corporation said Thursday.
Despite the pandemic, the modernization of power distribution in Iloilo proceeded as key investments were made on the installation of more 10MVA mobile substations at the Iloilo Business Park, as well as the rehabilitation and upgrading of substations and construction of a switching station.
“The modernization program sought to stop power pilferage through illegal connections which lead to power interruptions. It also sought to reduce overloading and provide cheaper and safer electricity and reliable customer service,” MORE Power spokesman Jonathan Cabrera said in a press release.
The company has been replacing old electric meters, replacing dilapidated wooden electric poles, upgrading transformers and installing conductors 24 hours a day.
According to MORE Power, 1,175 poles had been installed or replaced, 559 transformers had been replaced and 21,802 electric meters had been installed.
He added that in May last year, a 69-kilovolt transmission station was switched on in the La Paz district which connected it 100 percent to the grid and led to lower rates as the current distributor, More, contracted supply from geothermal sources.
Bottom of Form
With this, power rates went down by half from P13 per kWh to P6.2 per kWh, the lowest among power distribution utilities nationwide.
A crackdown against illegal connections also led to the confiscation of tons of stolen electrical cables, which led to a decrease in system loss from 23.31 percent in May 2020 to just 6.98 percent in December 2021, Cabrera said.
“Consumer complaints were also being quickly addressed with response time ranging from just 10 to 15 minutes,” he added.
There you go. So it is not just lip service from the good Mayor but really things are happening by way of MORE Power investing to upgrade and modernized to be at par with modern power distribution utilities. A far cry and unprecedented comparing it with the way things were with previous distribution utility the now defunct Panay Electric Company or PECO.
Excerpts from a March 28, 2022 issue of Panay News:
According to MORE Power President and CEO Roel Castro in addition to the 10MVA Mobile Substation which was installed in Megaworld last November 2020 and the new 33MVA substation, by September of this year another 30MVA will be operational in the said business district to cater to the increasing demand.
Overall, by the end of the year, Iloilo City would have a total capacity of around 193MVA.
MORE Power allocated P1 billion for this year for the development of said Megaworld Substation, purchase of 30 MVA Mobile Substation, development of City Proper substation, improvement and upgrading of other substations and subtransmission lines, construction of Control Center building and associated equipment and reconductoring of various distribution lines.
Castro said that the modernization efforts of MORE Power are aimed towards addressing systems loss factors, illegal connections and power interruptions; reducing overloading; providing a cheaper and safer electricity supply to consumers; and delivering efficient and reliable customer service.
But of all the changes that was brought upon by MORE Power, perhaps this is the most felt and welcome to all the subscribers/power consumers of “ I Am Iloilo City”:
Last year, MORE Power switched on its 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission station in Barangay Banuyao, La Paz district connecting 100 percent to the grid.
The result is a “major…major” reduction in electricity rates. MORE Power was able to gain access to cheap rates from a geothermal power supply source of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM).
With that, MORE Power’s rate has gone down to as low as P6.2071/kWh from the average of P13/kwh of the previous utility. It now averages at P6. 40/kWh. And that is the cheapest electricity rate in the country and coming from a clean sustainable source.
As our good Mayor says, indeed a partner in our beloved city’s development./PN
