The will to modernize power

By Herbert Vego

“TRYING to please everybody is impossible,” said the late singer-composer John Lennon. “If you did that, you’d end up in the middle with nobody liking you. You’ve just got to make the decision about what you think is your best, and do it.”

This must be the situation that MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) finds itself as the sole energy-distribution utility in Iloilo City. But rather than be disturbed by fault finders, the company’s executives see them as challenges to overcome.

After all, the primary purpose of an electricity distribution system is to meet the customer’s demands for energy flowing from the transmission grid.

I chanced upon Engr.  Bernard “Bailey” Del Castillo – MORE Power’s senior assistant vice president for network operations – being interviewed on radio to explain the company’s reaction to customers’ complaints against brownouts.

He waxed apologetic but resolute in reiterating the company’s commitment to “modernize” within five years, or not later than the year 2025. Brownouts could not be avoided during replacement of obsolete facilities “inherited” from the previous distribution utility which had not reinvested its earnings in improving service.

Dilapidated poles, cross-arms, substandard wires, transformers and many other electrical devices have to be replaced, necessitating power interruptions. There being thousands of them, it would take time to complete the system’s rehabilitation and modernization.

Fortunately, according to Del Castillo, while unscheduled brownouts could not be eliminated, they could be minimized and shortened by using tools of modern technology.

The automatic circuit recloser, he cited for example, automatically shuts off electric power when a short circuit occurs, and automatically restores it in five seconds when the trouble has been removed.

Trouble shooters may now easily detect weak spots with the aid of thermal scanners.  A thermal scanner is an imaging camera capable of detecting power lines that could burn out when not immediately attended to.

Through its infrared thermography equipment, MORE Power may now identify high-risk and non-secure parts of electrical lines, connectors, and transformers long before they become problematic and eventually break down, thus preventing unexpected power interruptions.

Another MORE official in another radio interview, Maria Cecilia “Maricel” C. Pe – assistant vice-president for customer care – revealed why it is only proper and fitting to prioritize customers’ satisfaction.

“From 62,000 customers in February 2020,” Pe said, “we now have almost 90,000.”

That’s indeed phenomenal for a company only two and a half years old. But it’s not surprising. No less than Mayor Jerry P. Treñas was the first to announce that Iloilo City now ranks seventh – the highest among Visayas cities – in the “most competitive city” category of the annual Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index.

Iloilo City is now home to around 100 business process outsourcing (BPO) offices with a combined force of 36,800 employees. No wonder new residential and commercial buildings have mushroomed.  In other words, the city is bursting at the seams with new migrants and businessmen.

Pe said that while the price of MORE electricity has spiked from P9.14 to P12.48 per kilowatt-hour, it is understandable in the light of inflationary pressure aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine war.  The two countries being among the major producers of coal fuel, its price has ballooned from US $60 to $400 per metric ton.

Concern for the paying customers has always been the reason behind the company’s relentless campaign against power pilferage, which is a major factor in system’s loss. The term refers either to energy consumed in transit from source to destination or to energy lost to power pilferage. It is a loss shared by both the utility and the power consumers.

But by strictly enforcing the anti-pilferage law (RA 7832) that punishes convicted pilferers with imprisonment (up to 12 years) and/or fines up to ₱100,000, MORE Power has trimmed down system’s loss from 28% to only 7%.

To quote MORE President Roel Z. Castro, “With MORE Power comes great sustainability.”