The Negros Oriental 2 Electric Cooperative has agreed to buy power from its backyard.
Engr. Chito Lozano, engineering services manager of Noreco 2, said they agreed to the offer of Green Core Geothermal, Inc. after nine months of negotiations.{{more}}
Lozano told the Dumaguete MetroPost that the Board of Directors of Noreco 2 has agreed to buy about 14 MW of power from Green Core starting December 26, to complement the 16.6 MW that they have contracted with the Kepco power plant in Cebu.
Noreco 2’s power requirement is pegged at 30 MW during non-peak hours.
In coming to an agreement with Green Core, the Noreco 2 broke off from an earlier agreement with other electric cooperatives in the Visayas to negotiate as one consumer to get a preferential rate.
With this scenario, Noreco 2 is the first electric cooperative in Negros Island to buy power from Green Core.
The other electric cooperatives, namely the Noreco 1, the Central Negros Electric Cooperative, the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative, and the Victorias Manapla Cadiz Electric Cooperative, have yet to make up their minds, said Green Core deputy manager Manny Candelaria, who briefed Dumaguete journalists in Boracay over the weekend.
The Noreco 1 and Green Core will schedule another meeting this week to finalize the deal, Lozano said.
Green Core had offered power to Noreco and the other electric cooperatives at P4.70 per kilowatt hour.
Candelaria lauded the move of NORECO 2 to finally agree with the offer, before its contract with the other power provider expires in December this year.
Candelaria said that the five-year lock-in period is on the consumer price index only, and not on the fluctuations of the world oil prices.
As far as the rates are concerned, Candelaria said the offer of Green Core of P4.70 is very competitive compared to other generators in the market.
He said the formula of their company considers only local inflation, and it is not affected by fluctuations of foreign exchange rates and global energy prices.
Since the power plants of Green Core are located near NORECO 2, it is assured of stable power supply due to reduced transmission line outage risk, Candelaria assured.
The 10-year contract with NORECO 2 is from December 26, 2010 to December 25, 2020. (With a report from Juancho Gallarde)
