DMCI, Maselco sign Masbate power supply contract

DMCI Holdings and the Masbate Electric Cooperative have forged a power supply agreement that will ensure a more stable and affordable supply of electricity to more than half a million residents of Masbate. President Arroyo and Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla witnessed the signing of the agreement in Malacanang on Friday. Under the agreement, DMCI will supply 13 megawatts of dependable capacity to Maselco 24 hours a day using hybrid technology electricity. DMCI will charge the cooperative P7.07 per kilowatt hour, a little more than half of the National Power Corp.'s current generation cost of P12 per kilowatt hour. Masbate currently relies on 8 megawatts of electricity per day, a supply which is usually interrupted for several hours every day. “We are very pleased with the signing of this power supply agreement between DMCI Holdings and Maselco. The privatization of SPUG areas will significantly contribute in sustaining the turn around in Napocor's finances given the reduction in subsidy to these areas. This will also bring efficiency in power supply management that will result to lower rates for consumers in the area," Lotilla said. With this new steady supply of dependable electricity, Maselco hopes to service the provinces’ entire customer base of 560,000 people, up from its present coverage of 125,000. Masbate, the country's second poorest province, is one of the fourteen small islands currently served by the Napocor-Small Power Utilities Group across the country which had been opened for private sector participation where the private investor may take over National Power-SPUG facilities and provide electricity in these areas. The Masbate area is the eighth SPUG area to be privatized since December 2005. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, structured and administered the competitive selection process that led to the agreement between Maselco and DMCI. The fourteen existing National Power-SPUG areas that have been opened for private sector participation are: Tablas, Romblon, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Mainland Palawan, Catanduanes, Bantayan Island, Masbate, Occidental Mindoro, Camotes Island, Siquijor, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Of these National Power SPUG areas, Occidental Mindoro, Camotes Island, Siquijor, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, have yet to finalize private power supply agreements. - GMANews.TV