PROVINCIAL Board members are scheduled to visit coal-fired power plants in the neighboring provinces of Iloilo or Cebu.

Provincial Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko, chair of the Committee on Energy, said the visit will be made after the Panaad sa Negros Festival.

Ko said that observations from the visit will be added in the committee's report.

After the power plant visits, the Committee on Environment will also conduct a public hearing.

Ko admitted that the request submitted by Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. to pass an ordinance making the province “coal-free” will take some time.

The Department of Energy revealed last March 6, that in the entire Visayas, Negros Occidental is the only major area with no inland reliable power source within the next five years.

Rey Maleza, chief of the Energy Management Division of the Department of Energy-Visayas, said on Wednesday, April 3, that within the year, three coal-fired power plants will be opening in Cebu and Iloilo. (TDE)