MORE Power pilots AI to improve service reliability

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) is harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to address recurring service issues and enhance power delivery in Iloilo City.

MORE Power President Roel Castro said the company is piloting AI-powered systems that analyze patterns in customer complaints, equipment failures, and repair histories.

He emphasized that the goal is to improve preventive and prescriptive maintenance across the power distribution network.

“[Power] troubles cause concern to our consumers, and sometimes these are just recurring,” Castro said.

“For example, with a client, why do we have to go back to a certain account several times? You can see that from the report—until you use AI.”

“AI will now tell you, this client that you’ve visited in the last five years, you’ve visited them 10 times, and the complaint is just this,” he added.

Castro noted that while their line crews respond quickly to reported issues, some areas experience repeated outages due to deeper systemic problems that often go undetected.

With AI, he said, the utility can track these patterns and carry out strategic repairs before major failures occur.

“I will admit we are already fast—I mean we’re okay—but there are still other things we could improve using AI,” he said.

Castro added that the system is expected to analyze historical data and identify “hotspot” areas in the distribution network, helping the company prioritize upgrades and preventive actions.

The AI pilot is being developed in collaboration with the Iloilo Science and Technology University.

Castro said MORE Power views this as an opportunity to apply homegrown solutions to real-world problems.

While no timeline has been set for full implementation, Castro said the pilot program will guide the company’s next steps toward digital transformation in power distribution.

He also addressed concerns that AI could threaten jobs, assuring that MORE Power is committed to using the technology to support—not replace—its workforce.

“I’m very deliberate—the AI is just going to help us with the analysis,” he said.

“If you have millions of data points, it’s difficult to spot trends. AI will help you do that.”

“AI is not there to decide—it’s still human intelligence,” he emphasized.

Beyond boosting workforce productivity, Castro said the use of AI is ultimately aimed at improving the customer experience.