A FEW COLUMNS back, I wrote about the initiative of Bohol Light Company Inc., the lone power distributor in Tagbilaran City and part of Enrique Razon’s energy group, to source nearly a quarter of its power supply from an 8.4-megawatt (MW) solar project developed by Mabuhay Power, bolstering the city’s position as a renewable energy leader in the Visayas.
The solar farm, once operational, is expected to meet 25% of Tagbilaran’s current 31 MW energy demand, according to Bohol Light president / chief executive officer Roel Castro.
“This 8.4 MW facility, once injected into our distribution system, will represent 25 percent of Tagbilaran City’s energy demand. This is a big percentage and will definitely help in attracting investors. They always ask about the percentage of green energy in our system.”
And my comment on that: With MORE Power’s progressive, forward-thinking and innovative approach to the power distribution business, I would not be surprised if this green initiative will also happen to “I Am Iloilo City’s” sole power distribution utility.
Indeed, it is already happening without much ado to “I Am Iloilo City’s” MORE Power, according to president and CEO Roel Castro:
“The truth is, we have been open to have embedded solar or any renewable energy plant in our franchise area since Day 1, six years ago.
“There has been a number of proposals informally submitted to us but unfortunately, the price offered is above our threshold. This means that we can have embedded renewable energy in our generation portfolio but if the offered price is above our threshold, it would make our rate ‘expensive’.
“We don’t want to burden our consumers with ‘expensive’ power. Nevertheless, as it is now, we have renewable energy already in our generation mix with the bilateral contract (that went thru the stringent competitive selection process) with EDC that is coming from their geothermal plants. A portion of the supply we get from the WESM also has renewable energy sourced from the open market.
“The embedded renewable energy will be very beneficial for us in MORE as it will increase our renewable energy component but has to be priced optimally so as not to increase the rate.”
Simply put, a significant portion of “I Am Iloilo City’s” electric power has been sourced by MORE Power from sustainable geothermal power plants.
Of course, MORE Power did not just rest there as they firmly believe in finding the right balance of increasing the renewable energy portfolio in the total generation mix and at the same time not significantly increase the rate from project developers soon.
This means that although geothermal energy is already a regular part of the total generation mix, the power distribution utility is still open and in fact accepting proposals from solar energy sources provided the prices are not above the threshold so as not to burden the consumers of “I Am Iloilo City” with a higher than usual electricity rate.
Moving on, MORE Power has always been at the forefront and a reliable partner of all the green initiative projects of Mayor Jery Treñas and the Iloilo City Government.
Since Day One, six years ago, MORE Power has been and still is an active and regular partner of “I Am Iloilo City’s” sustainable environmental projects i.e. releasing of fish fingerlings to restock the Iloilo River, annual coastal cleanups, mangrove planting and reforestation, urban gardening just to mention a few.
Take note, the predominant company color of MORE Power is green, which is universally associated with nature, renewal, growth and harmony.
All these for the benefit of Mother Earth as well as the consumers of “I Am Iloilo City”.
Finally, this month, MORE Power’s average residential electricity rate is at P11.1354 per kWh, lower than last month’s P12.0344 per kWh, reflecting a P0.8990 per kWh reduction. This lower electricity rate is due to the lower generation and transmission cost, with reduced prices from the electricity market (WESM) and stable prices from bilateral contracts.
Of course, MORE Power took advantage of the favorable rates from the electricity market by purchasing more when WESM prices are low while distribution charge remains the same./PN
