By MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City — A public hearing on the power purchase agreement between the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) and the Energreen Power Development and Management, Inc. will be held today.
Led by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) committee on communication and energy chaired by Councilor Alex Paglumotan, the hearing will be at 2 p.m. at the SP session hall.
Paglumotan said the SP’s decision to whether or not issue a certification for the agreement will be based from the result of the public hearing.
A certification from the SP is one of the requirements for the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the deal.
Paglumotan said the public hearing will tackle the health and environmental issues surrounding the agreement, and the propriety of the purchase price from Energreen (P12.44 per kilowatt hour).
Also expected to attend the public hearing are Atty. Enrique Tabino of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines–Negros Chapter and power consumer advocate Star Lavilla, among others, said the councilor.
Ceneco entered into a power service agreement with Energreen for the installation of a “peak and reserve” power facility to be embedded into the cooperative’s distribution system, documents showed.
Under the deal, electricity will be supplied directly to Ceneco’s 69-kilovolt Power Barge Feeder, ensuring delivery of reliable power even when there are transmission problems in the Visayas and Negros grids.
On Dec. 15, 2010, Ceneco and Energreen signed a memorandum of agreement for the supply of power from a peak and reserve diesel plant and a biomass project.
To immediately address the consumers’ demand for power, however, they agreed to sign separate agreements for the diesel and biomass plants.
On Aug. 5, 2013, Ceneco and Energreen signed the separate agreements, one of which was for the supply of peak and reserve 18.9 megawatts from the Calumanggan Diesel Power Plant to be operated by Energreen affiliate Central Negros Power Reliability, Inc. in Barangay Calumanggan, Bago City.
Ceneco covers the cities of Bacolod, Talisay, Silay, and Bago, and the towns of Murcia and Salvador Benedicto./PN
