PECO inks 10-MW power deal with GCGI
The Panay Electric Company has signed an agreement with Green Core Geothermal Inc. for the supply of additional 10 megawatts of power starting July 1, 2010, the PECO management announced yesterday.
The development is one of the several moves the power company has taken to address the lack of power supply that has plagued Iloilo for some time, it said.
In October, Panay Energy Development Corp.’s new power plant is expected to start supplying power to Iloilo City. In addition to reducing power outages, the additional electricity supply is also expected to cut power rates.
Last month, Iloilo City reached the height of its power shortage when the National Power Corp. suddenly reduced the supply of electricity to PECO without any warning or advice.
The situation became worse when the increased demand for electricity due to the El Nino summer heat forced the Panay Power Corp. to run its engines at full capacity 24 hours a day, which resulted to many problems. Several of PPC’s generating units had to be shut down for maintenance.
At one point, PECO was receiving 30 percent less electricity than normal from PPC, and none at all from NPC, the management said.
Randy Pastolero of PECO pointed out that their company also suffered from the situation, because they have no income during brownouts.
“Imagine any store or business with a sudden 30 percent or 40 percent drop in sales. That’s what we faced last June. We are constantly searching for additional suppliers of power, because by law, PECO is banned from generating its own power,” he said.
Pastolero added: “PEDC’s investment in their new plant was a welcome development, but of course it takes close to three years from the time that the investment is made up to the time when the electricity can already be supplied.”
He said that the PECO management is also confident that GCGI will expand its development of geothermal energy to meet Iloilo City’s needs in the future, adding that PECO is also encouraging other investors, especially in renewable energy, to consider putting up their generating plants in Iloilo.
