BAGUIO CITY–
Electric cooperatives from the Cordillera and Ilocos regions have agreed to
pool their needs for electricity in the next 20 years in order to avoid power
crisis.
In a recent
pre-bid conference, the ECs committed to pool a combined demand of 103
megawatts, which is enough to attract investors in the power generation sector,
lawyer Delmar Carino, spokesman for the Benguet Electric Coop., said.
Power
cooperatives from Ilocos Norte and Sur, Kalinga Apayao, La Union, Mountain Province,
Pangasinan, Benguet and Abra joined the undertaking and guaranteed to combine
all their “uncontracted” base load demand from 2019 to 2039.
Base load
demand refers to minimum amount of power that a distribution utility must make
available for its customers.
What the
eight ECs committed to pool are portions of their demands that have not been
covered by their existing power supply agreements, Carino said.
The move,
which is first in northern Luzon, will boost the country’s need for an
additional power capacity that would help cushion the effects of a power
shortage, he said.
The
Department of Energy has warned of a power crisis by summer of next year.
Six
power-generating companies attended the pre-bid conference conducted by
Beneco’s technical working group here on Dec. 13. Among these firms were the GN
Power, SO Energy, Global Power, Meralco, First Gen and AES.
“The number
of interested bidders during the pre-bid conference indicated that the
aggregation could attract investors. This will work to the advantage of the
ECs,” said Melchor Licoben, Beneco’s Engineering department manager and head of
the bid committee.
The power
firms have until Feb. 20 to submit their bids.
Under the
agreement, the Abra Electric Cooperative committed seven megawatts (MW) of its
uncontracted base load; Beneco, 14 MW; Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative, 51
MW; Ilocos Sur, seven MW; Kalinga, five MW; La Union, eight MW; Mountain
Province, eight MW, and Pangasinan Electric Cooperative III, 10 MW.
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