The board of Iloilo City distributor MORE Power and Electric Corp. approved P2 billion in emergency capital expenditures to upgrade the distribution system in the area, a top executive said over the weekend.
MORE Power and Electric Corp. chairman Steve Paradies said the energization of the 10-MVA mobile substation to decongest its main substation in Mandurriao reflected the company’s commitment to invest and meet the demand for power in Iloilo City.
“This mobile facility is a sign of More Electric’s commitment to invest in much needed infrastructure to improve electricity distribution in the city of Iloilo. Our board of directors has approved an emergency capital expenditure program of approximately P2 billion to upgrade the distribution system in our franchise area,” Paradies said during the virtual inauguration of the substation.
MORE Power is set to file the emergency capex with the Energy Regulatory Commission next week.
“We are very proud to be the electricity provider in the progressive city of Iloilo which has seen significant growth in the recent past. With the influx of many investors into your city, it is imperative that we invest to meet the growing demand for electric power. After all reliable electric power is a key criteria that investors look at when deciding to set up or expand their businesses in any urban setting,” Paradies said.
Businessman Enrique Razon Jr., president and chairman of MORE owner Prime Strategic Holdings Inc., said the new mobile 10-MVA substation would increase the capacity of the Megaworld area, one of Iloilo’s fastest growing districts. MORE Power is a subsidiary of Prime.
“This is one of the many investments we have made and we continue to make to modernize the existing, decrepit and antiquated distribution grid of the city of Iloilo that has suffered years of neglect and mismanagement,” Razon said.
He said they would execute an investment plan to transform MORE Power into a “world-class, modern electrical grid that is stable, safe, reliable and economical.”
Paradies asked for “a little patience as there is much work to be done on the existing infrastructure we took over early this year.”
“We have completed the rehabilitation of five substations within the city and we continue to upgrade transformers, poles and wires, electric meters and other components of the system that are needed to provide a highly efficient service,” Paradies said.
MORE Power president Roel Castro said the investments such as the new substation would cater to the expected growth of the city, given the expected entry of new call centers.
“We know the demand for capacity for this area is really unquestioned… This mobile substation is just a start of a string of capacity expansion that we are thinking or planning for the city,” Castro said.
He said More Power would also start with the competitive selection or bidding for power supply to bring down the cost of generation charges.
“In the meantime, we will continue with the rehab of old distribution system by replacing poles, uprating the wires, distribution transformers, installing new facilities with the latest tech to bring our system into world class,” Castro said.