City officials submit report on Taiwan trip
City Vice Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and the seven city councilors who went on a three-day study tour to Taiwan recently had already submitted their report to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) about their trip.
In their report, the city officials urged the people of Iloilo City to be open in welcoming any available source of power to augment the city's existing power supply.
"It is recommended that the city government and the people be open and ready to favor any source of energy as long as it is private investment that adheres to and promotes strict environmental conformity," they said in their report.
Mabilog along with City Councilors Julienne Baronda, Ely Estante Jr. Nielex Tupas, Lyndon Acap, Jose Espinosa III, Marietta Orleans and Eduardo Peñaredondo went to Taiwan October 12-14, 2007 to see for themselves the coal power plants operated by Formosa Heavy Industries (FHI).
FHI through Global Power Business Corp. is proposing to put up a 100 MW coal-fired power plant in the city.
The group pointed that what is important is that the city will not be burdened by the cost of putting in place the necessary facilities to operate an energy source.
"For one thing, the city government could not afford to establish a plant considering its financial capability." The city has to rely on the investment of the private sector, it said.
The investment from private sectors could benefit the people by providing a stable source of electricity on 24/7 basis and making electricity cheaper. Private investments can as well construct the required physical facilities within the shortest time possible considering their logistics. "In effect, the burden on the users will be lighter."
In the same report, the signatories said Iloilo City's vision is to be a premiere city by the year 2015. "With barely eight years to go, Iloilo City is still missing the most important component for a progressive and developed city which is reliable and affordable source of electricity."
The group also said the city continues to suffer from long and frequent brownouts even in regular days. The current price of electricity which is more than P10/kilowatt hour remains to be the highest in the country if not in the world. "Currently, the city does not have a single light industry within its boundary."
Further, they said the purchase of the old airport by Megaworld also entails additional power demand. Megaworld have an initial requirement of 20 megawatts during the initial operations and projected a 35 megawatts on full operations.
The demand will further enhance by the entry of two companies engaged in Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) namely Sutherland and Teletech. "The need for an additional supply of electricity is evident and real. It is similarly immediate.
Copies of the group's report was furnished to DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero, Director for Bureau of Local Government Supervision and DILG-6 Director Evelyn Trompeta. The department required the visiting party to submit their recommendation after their trip to Taiwan.