Philippine Electric Cooperatives Seal Long-Term Power Deals with Tycoon-Led Firms

MANILA, Philippines — Some 29 electric cooperatives (ECs) across Luzon and the Visayas are set to procure baseload power from companies controlled by tycoons Ramon Ang, Sabin Aboitiz and Federico Lopez. The utilities signed 15-year power supply agreements (PSAs) with the companies through the Luzon and Visayas Electric Cooperatives Aggregation (LVECA), following a joint competitive selection process (CSP). According to the National Electrification Administration (NEA), the firms include Sual Power Inc. and Malita Power Inc. of Ang-led San Miguel Global Power, as well as the Aboitiz Group’s Therma Luzon Inc. and Therma Visayas Inc. Also awarded supply contracts are the Lopez Group’s Energy Development Corp. and businessman Walter Brown’s Palm Concepcion Power Corp. The PSAs, which will take effect next year, cover a maximum aggregate contracted capacity of 445 megawatts for 19 ECs in Luzon and another 120.5 MW for 10 ECs in the Visayas. “The scale of this undertaking cannot be measured by megawatts alone. Behind these numbers are millions of Filipino households, small businesses, health and social services that rely on us from sunrise to sunset,” NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said. Almeda said the supply agreements would help the ECs address operational gaps and reduce the risk of power interruptions across their respective franchise areas. LVECA is a group of on-grid ECs in Luzon and the Visayas that pool their power requirements into a single large bloc, allowing them to conduct a joint CSP and secure more competitive electricity rates. The NEA special bids and awards committee conducted the joint auction with the assistance of a technical working group composed of representatives from all participating ECs. In Luzon, the participating ECs serve consumers across Abra, Aurora, Batangas, Cagayan, Camarines Sur, Laguna, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Quezon, Tarlac and Zambales. In the Visayas, the ECs serve consumers in Capiz, Cebu, Guimaras, Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. Under existing guidelines, power utilities are required to procure supply through a transparent, competitive and timely conduct of CSPs to ensure electricity is delivered to end-users at the least cost.