Senate widens franchise areas of power firms in Iloilo, Davao
Facade of the Senate of the Philippines building. FILE PHOTO
The Senate on Monday expanded the franchise coverage of the electricity distributors in Iloilo and Davao del Norte provinces, with the power firms promising cheaper and standard rates and improved service.
House Bill No. 10306, which the Senate passed on third and final reading, amended the franchise area of More Electric and Power Corp. (More Power), which services Iloilo City, to include Passi City and 15 towns in Iloilo province: Alimodian, Leganes, Leon, New Lucena, Pavia, San Miguel, Sta. Barbara, Zarraga, Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Dueñas, Dumangas and San Enrique.
The bill awaits the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte before it becomes a law.
Roel Castro, More Power president, said the firm was preparing for the expansion of its services to the additional areas but clarified that it would not take over existing electric cooperatives in the 15 towns and Passi City.
He said More Power intended to offer cheaper rates and improved services to its consumers.
The bill’s proponents, among them Iloilo Representatives Michael Gorriceta and Braeden John Biron, and Iloilo City Rep. Julienne Baronda, said the expansion of the franchise area would improve power distribution services in the additional areas similar to Iloilo City.
More Power took over the operations and distribution facilities of Panay Electric Co. in 2020, a year after President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11212 on Feb. 14, 2019. The law granted a 25-year franchise to More Power to establish, operate and maintain a power distribution system in Iloilo City.
But the 121-member Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (Philreca) earlier warned that expanding More Power’s franchise area would result in higher electricity costs.
In a position paper, Philreca had pointed out that the additional areas are already covered by Iloilo Electric Cooperative (Ileco) 1, Ileco 2, and Ileco 3.
It said granting More Power a legislative franchise to operate in these areas violates a provision of the National Electrification Administration Act that states “… no franchise for service shall be granted to any other person within any area or portion for which a cooperative holds a franchise…”
It said allowing More Power to operate in areas where electric cooperatives already serve consumers would also be redundant and lead to additional costs.Boosting growth
In Davao del Norte, local officials welcomed the congressional approval that expanded the franchise area of Davao Light and Power Co. (DLPC) to cover the rest of the province, including those being served by the North Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco).
Once approved by Mr. Duterte, the expansion will allow DLPC, which has been servicing the city of Panabo and the towns of Sto. Tomas, Carmen and Braulio Dujali since 1976, to service all areas in the province.
Earlier, groups representing power consumers in Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro provinces opposed the firm’s takeover of the franchise area of Nordeco, formerly Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco). The groups, however, had yet to issue a statement on this development on Wednesday.
Aside from the remaining areas of Davao del Norte, Nordeco also serviced the area of Davao de Oro, formerly named Compostela Valley, a province carved out of Davao del Norte.
Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib and Mayor Al David Uy of the Island Garden City of Samal thanked Congress for expanding DLPC’s franchise.
“This bill represents the dreams and aspirations of Davao del Norte: world-class service and cheap electricity for our people,” Jubahib said in a statement. “This is critical to our economic growth and the convenience of our people.”
Uy described the proposal as the “turning point” in the history of Samal Island as it would make it easy for the province to realize its potential as a tourism and investment destination.
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