The Energy Development Corp. has offered to lower the electric rates of the two Negros Oriental Electric Cooperatives starting in October, in the wake of the fluctuating price of coal-generated power offered by competitors.
Richard Tantoco, EDC president and chief operating officer, told power stakeholders of Negros Oriental in Friday’s Energy Summit at Bethel Guest House that their offer is in line with their desire to be a “good neighbor” to the consumers in Negros Oriental.
“Our promise to Negros Oriental consumers is that they will not be able to find a cheaper source of power from what we offer,” Tantoco said. The two Negros Oriental electric cooperatives are also buying power from a coal-fired plant in Cebu at a price of P5.51 per kilowatt hour.
The EDC is offering a drop of about 30 centavos per kwh from their present rate, which will save the Negros Oriental electric cooperatives of at least P5.9 million per year, said Juvileo Acabal, general manager of the Bindoy-based Noreco 1.
On top of the EDC offer, they are also offering a prompt payment discount. Edward Du, president of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said that if the electric cooperatives always pay their bills on time, they could buy the power for as low as P4.88 per kwh.
Negotiations are continuing between EDC and the electric companies.
The new price offer was made after the EDC inaugurated Friday its 49.4 MW Nasulo geothermal plant in barangay Puhagan in Valencia town.
Energy Sec. Jericho Petilla, EDC Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Federico Lopez, EDC President Ricky Tantoco, and Valencia Mayor Edgar Teves led the switch-on ceremony followed by a plant tour of the more than 200 guests.
Lopez said the Nasulo geothermal plant will help address the tightening power supply-demand situation in the Visayas region, which is expected to exceed the current capacity of 2,037 MW by 2015.
It will boost the portfolio of power assets of EDC and its subsidiaries in Southern Negros that includes the 112.5MW Palinpinon I and 80MW Palinpinon II geothermal plants of Green Core Geothermal Inc..
Energy Secretary Petilla also called on Negrenses to support the geothermal plant because it is an advantage for a province to have its own power.
“Many other provinces want to have an environment-friendly power source but they have none,” he said.
He cited the case of Bohol, that was spared from Typhoon Yolanda but it still had to endure brownouts because of the damage sustained by the Tongonan Geothermal Plant in Leyte.
Addressing environmentalists, Petilla assured that the trees cut to build geothermal plants are very minimal compared to what coal plants, for example, have to cut. “A geothermal has the smallest carbon footprint. It is the most environment-friendly plant,” he said.
