MORE inks another supply deal with AboitizPower

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

MORE Electric and Power Co. (MORE Power), which is gunning for the power distribution in services Iloilo City, has signed another interim power supply agreement with one of the country’s largest power producers, AboitizPower Corp.

The contract signing held at Seda Atria Hotel Iloilo on May 22, 2019 was led by MORE Power President and CEO Roel Z. Castro and President and Chief Operating Officer of AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI) Alexander B. Coo. 

The agreement stipulates that AboitizPower will supply MORE Power 10 megawatts (MW), with an option to add another 5MW, for a period of one year.

The main source will be the clean and renewable power plant of AboitizPower under the company’s Cleanergy brand 

The power will be supplied by APRI, which operates the Tiwi and MakBan geothermal power plants in the provinces of Albay and Laguna and Batangas, respectively.

The agreement will take effect once MORE begins its operations.

According to Coo, AboitzPower’s portfolio of power plants all over the country makes it an ideal partner for MORE Power and the people of Iloilo City.

“Geothermal power is definitely unique because it is renewable energy yet it can be baseload – meaning, it delivers power 24/7 with zero carbon footprint. For a growing metropolis like Iloilo City, this makes perfect sense. We are definitely excited to be partners with MORE Power and even more excited to be part of the growth of Iloilo City,” Coo added.

Castro said the partnership with AboitizPower would ensure reliable and consistent power supply especially the geothermal power source.

“Among the renewables, geothermal is more reliable and consistent unlike other sources which are intermittent,” he said.

The brand of AboitizPower as one of MORE Power’s supplier is also important according to Castro since critics are questioning the reliability of MORE Power.

“As we would be coming, the name of AboitizPower is important because some people questioned our reliability. If we have Aboitiz, I don’t know who is going to question this,” he said.

Moreover, AboitizPower also offered one of the lowest power rates at P4.27 per kilowatt-hour (KWh), according to Castro.

Last week, MORE Power also signed an interim power supply agreement with KEPCO-SPC Power Corporation (KSPC).

With the lower rates of AboitizPower and KSPC at P4.27 and P4.665 KWh, respectively, Castro said the blended rate in the city would definitely go down.

With the current demand of Iloilo City at 116-120 megawatts Castro said they are still eyeing two more power suppliers.

“As of now we are looking at the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) and Global Business Power,” he said.

According to Castro, they are still finalizing the negotiations with GBP.

“There are ongoing negotiations because we cannot accept their contract with the current distributor. We opted for cheaper rates,” he said.

MORE Power is entering into one-year contracts with suppliers until the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) is conducted. 

The new power firm is aiming to wrest distribution rights from long-time distributor Panay Electric Co. (PECO) after securing a congressional franchise via Republic Act 11212 on Feb 14, 2019.

Under the law, MORE Power is allowed to avail of emergency power supply through negotiated procurement, provided this will only be for a period of one year and the rates must not be higher than the latest Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-approved generation tariff for the same or similar technologies in the area.