ORMOC CITY – Executives of the Leyte Electric Cooperative V (Leyeco V) here were told by city dads to muscle for priority status from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), especially in times of power shortage, saying that this is embodied in an agreement made between the PNOC-Energy Development Corporation and the National Power Corporation before the Department of Energy.
Leyeco V OIC Engr. Juanito Jorda and information office manager Max Torcinde, who came before the city council during their caucus this Friday morning (February 12), said they did not know about the agreement and added it could help a lot in the predicament that the cooperative was facing.
The two were lobbying for the city council to issue a resolution asking the PSALM to renew the coop’s power contract with them, which was reportedly denied on December yet.
Jorda said that this is the first time that the coop’s request for a renewal of its power contract was denied, and they haven’t heard of the action taken on the motion for reconsideration that they passed since. Their request for renewal was denied on December 11, yet, and now it is February, he pointed out.
The denial, he added, was because PSALM said it was not “economically capable of supplying the requirements” of Leyeco V.
The cooperative has been experiencing power shortages lately. Jorda said that the brownouts are not their fault, but was the result of a load shedding imposed on them by NGCP.
To lessen the impact, he added, they rotated the brownouts, giving Ormoc a preferential treatment being its biggest revenue earner.
On the other hand, the NGCP issued a statement saying that the shortage was due to the maintenance works being done on the two Mahanagdong plants, and another one in Western Visayas. Since the plants are owned by the Energy Development Corporation, NGCP’s operations are dependent on the power generated at the plants since their only concern is transmission. The power situation, meanwhile, is expected to normalize by February 23, when all the plants are online.
The NGCP reiterates this in a media advisory this week saying they “would like to reiterate that it does not own nor operate and maintain these power generation facilities. As the System Operator, NGCP’s main responsibilities are to transmit power and operate the power system in accordance with the Philippine Grid Code.” The advisory comes from Belinda Sales Canlas, Corporate Communications Officer-Visayas.
Meanwhile, city councilor Jose “Pepe” Alfaro Jr. said that Leyeco V should be aware that being located in the host community, it is supposed to have preferential status that other areas when power shortages occur.
He added he believed the agreement, entered in 1994 yet or 16 years ago, should still be honored by the parties involved today, even as there are now different entities owning what was PNOC-EDC then and NPC.
He said that the agreement was issued by the two entities so that the city council of Ormoc would give the Leyte A Geothermal Project a favorable endorsement. Alfaro said they lobbied for this concession, to protect the interests of the Ormocanons. As the host city, he said, the least that the power companies could give the city is preferential treatment since they cannot give preferential rates.
A copy of the certification obtained by the EV Mail from Alfaro show that the PNOC-EDC represented by its president Nazario Vasquez then, and the NPC represented by Francisco Viray then, committed to give a minimum of 25 percent of the available capacity and a maximum of 25 percent of the contracted capacity to the host LGU in case of power shortage.
The host LGU was defined as the Province of Leyte in the certification.
However, this was “refined” by the city council in its Resolution No. 136 endorsing the Leyte A Geothermal Project, specifically mandating that the term “host LGU” includes not only the province of Leyte but also the independent component city of Ormoc.
Alfaro said that the efforts of the Ormoc city council then was recognized by the Department of Energy, and has even been translated into a memorandum circular which mandates that benefits like power loads and royalties from geothermal producing areas are granted on a “radiating basis”. “The nearer to the source”, he said, the priority its status.
For their part, Jorda said they welcomed the inputs of the city council, adding that other agencies like NGCP would also welcome knowing about these previous arrangements.
Meanwhile, the council gave the Leyeco V executives their assurance to pass the requested resolution. They asked Leyeco V to give them a suggested draft which they promised to pass soon. By Lalaine M. Jimenea
Leyeco V asks council’s help for power contract
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