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Thursday, August 25, 2005
Tupas acts to prevent power barge transfer
ILOILO Governor Niel D. Tupas Sr. last Wednesday brokered an agreement between the Iloilo Electric Cooperative (Ileco) III and National Power Corporation (Napocor) to hasten the construction of new mooring facilities for Power Barge 103 in Estancia, Iloilo and prevent its transfer to Barrio Obrero, Iloilo City.
After an hour-long meeting, Tupas said Ileco III has agreed to shoulder the estimated P5.2 million needed to build the new docking pier for the power barge which is presently experiencing technical problems due to the shallow waters at its mooring site in Estancia.
"At least we have now an agreement to speed up the construction of the mooring pier and allow Napocor to keep the power barge at its present station in Estancia," Tupas said after presiding over the meeting that included Ileco III general manager Gil Altamira, Napocor Dingle plant head Nelson Jomena and Transco regional head Rey Jaleco.
Under the agreement, Napocor would credit the expenses advanced by Ileco III to its monthly power bill to enable the electric cooperative to utilize its funds without having to adversely affect its ability to make prompt payments to the power agency, Tupas said.
Tupas said Napocor was ready to pull out the power barge from its station in Estancia because of the delay in the implementation of a previous arrangement for Ileco III to undertake the construction of the mooring facility.
Jomena said the power barge could not operate at full capacity because sand from the shallow waters of its docking site is being sucked into the cooling system. Because of this, Napocor asked Ileco III to undertake the relocation of the power barge to a deeper area in Estancia.
However, Ileco III balked at the idea of having to spend P5.2 million for the project as it worried about its ability to pay its power bill to Napocor on time if this amount is shelled out for the purpose.
After waiting for more than a year, Napocor announced it would have to transfer the power barge to Bo. Obrero to enable it to operate at full capacity.
But such a move would cause power load problems in the fifth district, according to Transco's Jaleco.
"The pullout of the power barge from Estancia would destabilize the power voltage level in the system in the fifth district of the province," Jaleco said. Massive brownouts would likely result from it, he added.
To remedy the situation, Tupas brought the power sector players and carved out a mutually acceptable agreement in which Ileco III could make progressive billings on its advances and get the amounts deducted from its monthly bill from Napocor.
(August 25, 2005 issue)
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