City opposes NGCP acquisition of PEDC asset

Friday, November 11, 2011

THE Iloilo City Government expressed its strong opposition to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’s (NGCP) application to acquire the Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC) transmission asset.

In a petition filed before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), city legal officer Jose Junio Jacela said the acquisition of PEDC’s P619-million transmission assets would redound to additional P1 per kilowatt hour (kwh) in the form of transmission wheeling charge.

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This will mean that the avowed commitment of PEDC and power distributor Panay Electric Company (Peco) to lower their rates will not happen. This will also mean the entry of coal power plant in the city of Iloilo will be inutile and useless.

Jacela said a major consideration for the city’s acceptance for the construction of the coal power plant was the consistent promise of PEDC that the Peco power rate will be lowered compared to other distribution utilities in nearby towns.

Jacela said Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is also against the transmission line acquisition, adding the mayor ordered the city legal office to immediately file a petition opposing the NGCP application with ERC.

Under Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), the power transmission will be directly under NGCP.

However, if ERC approves the NGCP application for acquiring the PEDC transmission assets under the Epira law, it will cause irreparable damage to Iloilo City due to the great loss of opportunity for big businesses to establish in the city, said Jacela.