CALAPAN CITY: The congressional franchise of a power distributor here that is set to expire this year is seen by stakeholders as one of the reasons why prospective big industry players are hesitant to invest in it.

Power outages have been frequent in Mindoro Oriental as the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, or Ormeco, failed to secure fuel subsidies from suppliers inside and outside the province, resulting in a power deficit of at least 18 megawatts (MW).

The consumers have also been complaining about the unresolved decadeslong power outages and unjustified high electricity costs.

Gov. Humerlito Dolor said that he had supported a proposal for the interconnection of the province’s power distribution to the Semirara Power Plant (SPP) in Semirara Island via submarine cable during his term as vice governor in 2017, but the laying of the cable, he said, did not commence.

Dolor revealed that they even passed a resolution then, endorsing the interconnection, with the DoE (Department of Energy) willing to support the project.

“But we understand that no businessman in his right mind would invest billions of pesos if he would be given a short period of time to recoup the investment, which is only seven years if they start now,” Dolor said during the Mindoro Power Summit held on Friday, September 29, at the Tamaraw Hall of the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Government.

“The construction itself would take at least two to three years, so they only have four to five years to operate,” said Dolor, referring to the franchise.

Then-Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi gave the go signal to the DMCI, owner and operator of the SPP, to proceed with the proposal to lay a submarine cable between Semirara Island and the town of Bulalacao for the interconnection.

Dolor recalled that DMCI countered that if the power would be distributed only in Oriental Mindoro, it would not be feasible and suggested that the Mindoro Island Power Grid be interconnected first. The interconnection of the two provinces was finished in 2021.

Former governor and former congressman Rodolfo Valencia stated during the summit that his group, the Alliance of Stakeholders for Sufficient and Affordable Power, is asking the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to recognize the result of the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) concluded in August, where the DMCI Power Corp. won but was questioned and granted to two separate independent power producers.

“While we are still in the process of asking the NEA and DoE to reconsider the franchise of Ormeco, may we ask the management of [Ormeco] to allow DMCI to operate the 41 MW power supply agreement based on the result of the CSP,” said Valencia.

Due to frequent power outages in the province, the people have been suffering, and the full potential of the province may not be fully harnessed because of the power problem.

Ormeco General Manager Humphrey Dolor said only the national government can resolve the issue of the CSP because it has a nationwide implication, as this would include all electric cooperatives undergoing the process.

“We can only support all initiatives in resolving our problems, and also Congress plays a major role in supporting Ormeco,” Dolor said.

The power summit was organized by the Mindoro Business Council, headed by Cusi, and facilitated by the provincial government. Representatives from the Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, or Omeco, that is also having a major power problem, were also present at the activity.