Congress hears bill to expand MORE Power to Iloilo towns

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

The House Committee on Legislative Franchises has begun deliberations on House Bill No. 6292, which seeks to expand the franchise area of MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) to include Iloilo’s First District.

The bill, filed by Iloilo First District Representative Janette L. Garin, proposes to allow MORE Power to serve the municipalities of her district, currently under Iloilo Electric Cooperative I (ILECO I).

During the hearing presided over by Negros Occidental Representative Jeffrey Ferrer, Garin, local leaders, and consumer groups expressed support for the bill, citing the need for better service and lower electricity costs.

In her statement, Garin said the entry of MORE Power would “introduce healthy competition, lower electricity rates, and relieve residents from what she described as the high operational expenses of the incumbent Iloilo Electric Cooperative I (ILECO I).”

She emphasized that the proposal does not seek to displace ILECO I but to “give consumers a choice and to ensure fairness as the energy landscape in Iloilo continues to evolve.”

Garin cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the legality of competition in the utility sector, bolstering the case for opening power options for consumers.

She also warned that if the First District remains solely dependent on ILECO I, her constituents may bear a disproportionate burden of the cooperative’s operating costs.

“ILECO I covers the First, Second, and part of the Third District of Iloilo. If the southern towns remain closed to MORE Power, my constituents may end up subsidizing the approximately PHP 40 million in monthly operational expenses of ILECO I,” Garin said during the hearing.

MORE Power President and CEO Roel Castro told lawmakers that the company is financially and technically ready to expand operations into the First District once authorized by Congress.

He said initial simulations indicate that the expansion would require at least PHP 2 billion in capital investment for infrastructure.

MORE Power already holds a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the Energy Regulatory Commission and is currently attracting consumers from ILECO I in the Second District due to its competitive rates and service reliability.

The committee is expected to resume deliberations on the bill in January 2026 as part of Congress’s ongoing evaluation of the franchise expansion.