The Razon-Castro ‘Midas touch’

By Herbert Vego

EXACTLY one year ago in the last week of August, 2023, an overwhelming majority of customers of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) voted to approve in a plebiscite a joint venture agreement (JVA) with Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI).

PHI, controlled by majority owner/billionaire Enrique K. Razon Jr., is also the holding company behind MORE Power and Electric Corp. (MORE Power) in Iloilo City. Razon is in Forbes’ list as the third richest man in the Philippines.

Roel Z. Castro, the president and CEO, has lived up to his reputation as the best in the industry.  He had previously held executive positions at the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Monte Oro Resources & Energy, Inc., Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC), Peakpower Energy (PEAK), and Hydro Link Projects Corp. (HLPC).

The Razon-Castro duo has earned popularity as the “Midas touch” behind MORE Power, NEPC, and, soon, Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI).

The PHI-Ceneco joint venture – aimed at modernizing and stabilizing power distribution Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, and Bago cities, as well as Salvador Benedicto and Murcia towns in Negros Occidental — has resulted in the birth of the Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC), with the share distribution of 70% coming from PHI, 30% from Ceneco.

It was the only way to save Ceneco from bankruptcy, since it had been wallowing in accumulated debts of more than P600 million to banks and other lending institutions.

The urgency of the matter pushed Congress to pass Republic Act Number 12011, granting a 25-year franchise to the NEPC, which was signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on July 26, 2024.

NEPC has already taken over Ceneco with an initial 220,000 customers.

But as the song goes, “ain’t no mountain high enough.”

Not surprisingly, billionaire Ricky Razon has acquired the privately-owned Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI) in Tagbilaran City, acquiring its 70 percent stake from Salcon Power Power Corporation (SPC) and other minority shareholders. The remaining 30% belongs to the Bohol provincial government

This is not to say, however, that the 53-year-old BLCI is in a sad financial state. As Castro was telling the Tagbilaran media, the acquisition with a planned capital investment of at least P1 billion is “a valuable opportunity that should not be missed,” given Bohol Light’s strong financial performance and good track record in the power distribution business in Tagbilaran City.

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MORE POWER GOING 5

THE current year is the 5th year in service of MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) as Iloilo City’s power-distribution utility (DU). Considering its five-year timetable for modernization at a budget of ₱2 billion, it will have completed that goal by February 2025.

One recalls that although the law awarding it a 25-year franchise was supposed to have taken effect in 2019, it was only in 2020 that MORE Power kicked due to legal kinks that had to be resolved in court.

Under RA 11918, MORE Power has expanded its franchise from Iloilo City to the towns of Alimodian, Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Dueñas, Dumangas, Leganes, Leon, New Lucena, Pavia, San Enrique, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Zarraga, and the component city of Passi – thus, soon competing with the Iloilo Electric Cooperative (Ileco). The expanded power lines are now under construction.

There is no more issue being raised against its capability to serve such an expanding clientele.

“After we complete the five-year modernization plan,” Castro told us, “expect a robust distribution system with maximum tolerance to causes of unintended outages, capable of handling bigger demand from consumers and industries.”