Dreaming of similar power rates

By Herbert L. Vego

THERE was a time when President Roel Z. Castro of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) talked to us about his dream of bringing about unified billing rates among electricity distribution utilities (DUs) in Iloilo.

“The benefit of this is,” he said, “is that investors would know where to invest within Iloilo. Whether they go to the city or the province, the rate is the same. It will no longer be a point of decision. They can just decide where it is more practical for their businesses.”

Unfortunately, a unified rate structure among MORE Power and the three branches of Iloilo Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO) is still impossible because the costs of fuel, generation and transmission charges continuously fluctuate and are embedded in the end user’s bill.

The distribution utilities patronize various power plants which generate electricity at different fluctuating rates at different times.

As told to this writer by Niel Parcon, one of MORE Power’s vice presidents, 60 percent of the amount stated in each bill belong to various generating plants.

Unfortunately, it is often the DUs that get the blame for rising rates and breakdown of power lines. Many remain to be educated on electricity bills consisting of pass-through power generation and transmission costs, distribution utility delivery fees, government taxes, and universal subsidies.

The DU (such as MORE Power or ILECO) retains a small fraction of the amount printed in the bill.

Would it not have been better if a DU is allowed to generate power and directly transmit it to consumers?

It is not allowed by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, or Republic Act No. 9136 which unbundled power generation, transmission, and distribution among independent players as regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

It also established the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to encourage private investment and competition among power generators.

Prior to the enactment of EPIRA, the defunct Panay Electric Company (PECO), MORE Power’s predecessor, operated its own power-generating diesel units in the 1990s.

So did the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) which had five power plants in Metro Manila.

Anyway, this brings to my mind the pending House Bill 7647. Sponsored by Rep. Janette Garin (1st District, Iloilo), it would allow MORE Power — Iloilo City’s sole power distribution utility — to compete with Iloilo I Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO 1) in her turf.

But now there is a clamor by a consumer organization for MORE Power and ILECO 1 to merge through a joint venture agreement that could lead to unified lower rates.

In this corner a few issues ago, I wrote about that organization, Bantay ng Bayan-101 (BNB-101), which echoed the clamor of residents of the seven municipalities of the 1st District — Guimbal, Igbaras, Tubungan, Oton, Tigbauan, Miag-ao, and San Joaquin — to forget about competition and demand for a joint venture agreement instead.

It would be in line with a Supreme Court (SC) decision dated June 13, 2025, which upheld the legality of MORE Power’s franchise expansion beyond Iloilo City.

In a radio program, BNB-101 regional director Raul Cordova recently told program hosts Neri Camiña, Nermie Camiña and this writer, “We used to look forward to competition between the cooperative and the private power distributor. Competition would grant energy consumers the freedom of choice. But now we are suggesting joint venture as a better alternative.”

Why not? It is already public knowledge that industrial mogul Enrique K. Razon, the richest Filipino, is the main investor behind MORE Power.

A good example in point is the existing joint venture between MORE Power and the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) in Bacolod City. The merger inked in 2024 is now known as Negros Electric and Power Corp. (a.k.a. NEPC or Negros Power).

According to Ma. Cecilia C. Pe, Negros Power’s vice-president for customer relations, it has grown by leaps and bounds — from 177,737 customers in August 2024 to 254,000-plus today, and counting.