CHANGE is indeed inevitable or in this case the expansion is inevitable.
The change or expansion we are talking about is to amend the franchise and expand the coverage of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) to several towns in Iloilo province currently serviced by Iloilo Electric Cooperatives (ILECO) I, II and III.
This clamor is, of course, the fact that MORE Power was able to bring down the power rate in Iloilo City to P6.38 per kWh in September 2021, the lowest rate in the country, not to mention that MORE Power in just two years of operation was able to vastly improve the distribution system, bring in new sub-stations and better public service and customer relations.
And it all started with a privilege speech by Pavia Sangguniang Bayan member Dan Fajardo during one of the SB sessions:
“I therefore propose, with a heightened sense of urgency, that this august body passes a Resolution requesting our honorable congressman Mike Gorriceta to explore this matter and possibly make the appropriate representations to Congress or to MORE Power if this is at all possible.”
That privileged speech prompted this: three Iloilo congressmen filed a bill in Congress to amend the franchise and expand the coverage of MORE Power to several towns in the province currently serviced by Iloilo Electric Cooperatives (ILECO) I, II, and III.
Representatives Julienne Baronda (Lone District of Iloilo City), Michael Gorriceta (2nd Congressional District) and Braeden John Biron (4th Congressional District) filed House Bill No. 10258 last Sept. 21, 2021 because of the clamor of their constituents on frequent power interruptions and high electricity rate of these cooperatives.
HB10258, which seeks to amend Republic Act 11212 or MORE Power’s franchise to operate a distribution utility in Iloilo City, was already approved in the committee level of the House of Representatives.
It, in turn, resulted into this: HB10258 and HB10271 were amended into House Bill No. 10306 – An Act Amending Sections 1, 15, and 21 of Republic Act No. 11212, Entitled “An Act Granting MORE Electric and Power Corporation a Franchise to Establish, Operate and Maintain for Commercial Purposes and in the Public Interest, a Distribution System for the Conveyance of Electric Power to the End Users in the City of Iloilo, Province of Iloilo and Ensuring the Continuous and Uninterrupted Supply of Electricity in the Franchise Area”.
And that is where our story begins. On Jan. 20, 2022 the Senate Committee on Public Services conducted a hearing on House Bill No. 10306. It was attended by, aside from the senators, stakeholders, particularly MORE Power, Iloilo Electric Cooperative (Ileco), the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (Philreca), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Department of Energy (DOE), and of course Pavia SB member Dan Fajardo.
Here are excerpts from the discussion of the senators who attended the hearing via Zoom:
Sen. Franklin Drilon; “I will not let this opportunity pass to spread into the record my appreciation for the services of MORE to Iloilo City. They have indeed made themselves worthy of the franchise that we have granted.
“Yes indeed they have rendered services which contribute to the economic progress of the city. So let me close this by a note of commendation to MORE for the services done for Iloilo City.”
Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Committee on Public Service: “I’m glad that you gave the recognition. Actually, the discussion is a little bit more difficult because there’s an exhibit A by MORE with the service they provided to Iloilo City.
“So it is very hard to discount the fact that there are a lot of satisfied customers there and others would like to avail of the same.”
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, for his part, questioned the cooperatives, particularly Ileco, why they could not lower their electric rates as soon as possible. Of course, no amount of justification from Ileco could change the fact that if MORE Power could do it, why can’t they.
Meanwhile, MORE Power’s President Roel Z. Castro, made it clear that the inevitable expansion or “takeover” if you may was not a company-generated plan. It started as an insistent clamor from the people of the Municipality of Pavia for better power rates and services from their power distribution utility.
Likewise, Castro assured the committee that MORE Power is more than prepared to expand its facilities and the number of its workforce to handle the bigger coverage.
MORE Power’s expanded franchise area under House Bill No. 10306 includes the following 15 towns: Alimodian, Leganes, Leon, New Lucena, Pavia, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Zarraga in the 2nd District; and Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Dueñas, Dumangas, and San Enrique and the City of Passi in the 4th District.
With Sena. Grace Poe promising to sponsor the measure on the Senate floor, it looks like change rather the expansion is indeed inevitable. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com)/PN
