MORE Power Corp.’s P1.9-B investment showing results in Iloilo

MANILA, Philippines — 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.

“The installation of new equipment was able to remove one of the key causes of outages or brownouts. An 85 percent drop in interruptions had been noted in the city, Cabrera said.

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.

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.

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