MORE Power vows more upgrades

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

MORE Electric and Power Corp’s top honcho vowed to continue modernizing Iloilo City’s power distribution grid during the ceremonial switch-on of the distribution utility’s 10MVA mobile substation in Mandurriao district on Nov 20, 2020.

The event also unveiled MORE Power’s plan to invest P2 billion emergency capital program to upgrade the city’s distribution system.

Touted as MORE Power’s initial step towards doubling Iloilo City’s power capacity in the next five years, the mobile substation is not only a behemoth power-provider on wheels, it is also the answer to the ever-present danger of overloading of the Mandurriao substation, according to Enrique K. Razon Jr., Chairman & President of Prime Strategic Holdings, Inc.,

Razon, the major stakeholder in MORE Power, virtually attended the blessing and inauguration of the mobile facility at Iloilo Business Park in Megaworld on Friday.

“The new mobile 10MVA substation will increase the capacity of the Megaworld area, one of Iloilo’s fastest-growing areas, by 6-8 megawatts. Moreover, it will decongest one of the five substations whose usage has gone beyond safe levels. As a result, the Mandurriao substation should have less outages,” he said.

Scoring the “decrepit and antiquated” distribution grid of Iloilo City, Razon vowed the MORE franchise will modernize the system to give Iloilo City a world-class electrical network.

“Decades of neglect and mismanagement have led to this, but we will give Iloilo City a stable, safe, reliable, and economical power supply,” he said.

MORE Power President and COO Roel Z. Castro said the mobile substation will ease the load of the Mandurriao substation

“This 10MVA moveable substation will not only provide the Megaworld with a larger capacity to service its power needs, it will also give ‘breathing space’ to the Mandurriao substation and, to some extent, the Molo substation,” Castro said.

MORE has been trying to prevent overloading of its substations due to higher demand amid the pandemic.

It had warned that Mandurriao substation is working at critical levels having breached 90% of its capacity.

With the mobile substation, the Mandurriao substation is expected to perform at a safer 70% level.

In the next five years, MORE Power is embarking on a “stream of capacity expansion” that will see the addition of a 30MVA mobile substation, a new 50MVA substation at another end of Iloilo Business Park, and new substations in Arevalo District and Diversion area as well as the expansion of the City Proper and Jaro substations.

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas welcomed these planned developments saying that two or three more business processes outsourcing (BPO) firms are setting up shop in the city in 2021.

“More investors and MORE’s help are cushioning the impact of this pandemic,” he said.

MORE Power is committed to delivering efficient and reliable power distribution to Iloilo City based on three principles: capacity building with focus on demand accommodation; continuity of efficient and sustainable power supply; and technological competence that will propel decisions and allow the company to move forward.

Stephen George A. Paradies, MORE Chairman of the Board, underscored MORE’s pledge by revealing the approval of a nearly P2B emergency capital budget program to upgrade the distribution system here.

“All we ask is a little bit more patience as much work is left to be done,” he said.

Meanwhile, Monsignor Meliton Oso, who led the blessing ceremony, urged MORE to take on the challenge of not minding the criticisms hurled against it.

“Unkind words have been thrown at you, but take that as a challenge. Be ever mindful of your true mission, which is to reflect the Ultimate light of Jesus Christ, who himself was crucified,” he said, adding, “Just stay on the side of truth because truth is light.