Iloilo City primed for investment surge as MORE Power delivers

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

Iloilo City now has the power infrastructure to support significant new investments, according to MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) President and CEO Roel Castro.

Speaking before the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) on August 29, Castro highlighted the city’s economic momentum and the utility’s aggressive modernization program.

He assured investors that Iloilo’s power grid is not only stable but has ample spare capacity to meet future industrial, commercial, and residential demand.

“We came in in 2020, and our growth in electricity demand has been increasing,” Castro said, noting that MORE Power’s customer base nearly doubled from 62,000 accounts in 2020 to approximately 115,000 in 2024.

Castro explained that this surge in demand required an accelerated five-year infrastructure upgrade to catch up with system requirements.

“After this year, we will be ahead of the curve,” he declared. “This means that Iloilo’s electricity or power infrastructure will already be above the curve, which means that Iloilo will be ready for investment. We would be confident and not be afraid of any investment that would come, and that would require power.”

He revealed that the system currently has a 36% reserve capacity, allowing it to absorb new loads without the immediate need for large-scale construction.

Since taking over the franchise in 2020, MORE Power has significantly improved reliability and efficiency across the grid.

System loss has dropped from 30% to just 4.75%, drastically reducing energy waste and cost inefficiencies.

The frequency of power interruptions has also declined sharply, from 18 outages per year to fewer than one, enhancing business and consumer confidence.

These improvements are driven by the deployment of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system that allows real-time monitoring and control of the power grid.

Castro added that MORE Power is preparing for its next modernization phase through the implementation of automated metering infrastructure.

“This is to show you that we are at least ready for the next five years,” Castro told MAP members. “We welcome all of you, as investors, to Iloilo City.”

The Management Association of the Philippines is a premier, non-profit organization composed of top and senior executives from a broad cross-section of the largest and most respected companies in the country.

For over seven decades, MAP has been at the forefront of shaping Philippine business policy and promoting management excellence.

Its membership meetings, which feature key government and private sector leaders, serve as a vital platform for discourse on critical national issues and economic development, making it an ideal audience for a message on Iloilo’s investment readiness.