‘Let us be one with MORE Power’

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

A key leader of the Catholic Church in Iloilo hailed the latest developments in the power distribution sector

Msgr. Meliton Oso expressed his elation during the blessing of two bucket trucks and one digger truck purchased by Iloilo City distribution utility MORE Power at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral.

“Ginakalipay gid naton ining mga developments. May mga bagay kita nga ginaagyan tungod sa pagtinguha naton nga mabag-o ang proseso kag mapakay-o pa gid. [We are happy with the recent developments. There are things that we go through in our efforts to change the process and make it better]. And I firmly believe the Ilonggos are now ready to embrace these things, and we are happy with these developments,” Oso said.

MORE Power purchased three brand-new trucks as part of its ongoing re-fleeting program and in fulfillment of their promise to provide Iloilo City with a reliable and stable power supply.

The power trucks will provide more expeditious service to MORE consumers.

“Testigo ining tatlo ka salakyan sa pagtinguha sang MORE nga mahatag sa Ilonggo [These three trucks are witness to MORE Power’s efforts to provide Ilonggos] the best service possible. Let us be one with MORE Power in trying to give the best service to Iloilo. Siling ko gani kay Mr. Castro, kon kaisa gareklamo nga damu brownout, those are birth pangs. Ang nanay nga manugbata, may kasakit gid. After childbirth, the joy comes: ang joy nga indi mabayluhan, kag tanan nga kasakit balewala. [I even told Mr. Castro, people complain of too many brownouts, but those are birth pangs. A woman about to give birth feels labor pains. But after childbirth, the joy comes, joy that can’t be replaced, and all the pain will go way.] So, let us be one with this–this is our city–and let us all be one as an Ilonggo community,” Oso added.

 

PART OF MODERNIZATION

According to MORE Power president Roel Castro, the three trucks are just part of the many good things that will come Iloilo City’s way as part of their modernization program.

“Kung makikita nyo naman [As you can see], these are all brand-new units, and there are more units arriving in the next few months. But this is really part of our modernization program for Iloilo City kasi tingin natin marami talagang trabahong kailangang gawin [because we see there’s really much work to do]. When we came in, nakita namin na limited ‘yung mga units na nandito at medyo used na rin [we saw the units were limited and already heavily used], that’s why MORE invested,” Castro said.

The president and CEO underscored the need to augment MORE’s fleet “to do the things that are long overdue.”

He said that the company foresees increased workload in the first three or five years of MORE in Iloilo City.

“So kailangan talaga ang equipment, kailangan ang mga tools para makahabol tayo sa trabaho na kailangang gawin [So we will really need the equipment, we will need the tools to keep up],” he explained.

He cited conductor-related work and meter set-up as two of the challenges the two new bucket trucks will help address.

Castro also revealed that MORE is considering elevating meters further up in a bid to discourage illegal tapping or illegal connections.

But while he believes this initiative could work, it is not the end-solution to a problem that has plagued the city for so long.

“Yung pagbawas ng illegal, hindi naman lahat ‘yan nasa metro o nasa hardware, nasa tao din ‘yan… kasi, kahit gaano kataas ‘yan, kung talagang may intensyon ang consumer na magnakaw, kaya nyang gawin ‘yan [Curbing these illegal connections is not just about the meters or the hardware, it’s also the people. Because even if you put (the meter) at a certain height, if a consumer has the intention to steal, he can do it],” he said.

For MORE consumers, Castro had this to say, “We are asking for your complete understanding in the first three to five years we will be putting in place everything that’s needed to modernize the distribution facilities in Iloilo City.”

He claimed that due to decades of neglect by the former franchise holder, MORE Power is left to finish an enormous amount of work.

“We will change electric posts, transformers, we will put a system in place. We will actually modernize even the conductors, the tie-ups. The load balancing is on the pipeline, even the looping system that I explained before,” he said.

He added that power interruptions and outages are to be expected whenever major repairs need to be accomplished, but that they won’t be for naught.

“Everything we do now and in the next three or five years is all geared to provide Ilonggos a better and modernized power distribution system,” he concluded.

Only recently, MORE Power conducted comprehensive preventive maintenance of all five substations in the city as part of its mission to prevent massive and protracted power interruptions in the future.