CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro -- The local electric cooperative here has entered into an agreement with two independent power producers (IPPs) to supply electricity that hopefully will solve the power crisis in the province.
The two IPPs -- Top Team Power Generation Inc. and DMCI Power Corp. -- have both agreed to supply Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative Inc. (ORMECO) with 22.3 megawatts under an Emergency Power Procurement plan to prevent further the adverse effects of power supply deficiency in Oriental Mindoro.
ORMECO acting general manager Humphrey Dolor said the new power provider, Top Team, will immediately fill in the needed power supply of 18.3 MW once the existing power supply agreement with Power One Corp., another IPP, expires on August 5 and 16 this year.
Top Team and DMCI are the two IPPs that showed interest to supply ORMECO with electricity after a Special Bids and Awards Committee solicited the proposals of all existing IPPs to provide the power gaps with their own surpluses.
DMCI will supply the 4MW dependable capacity after it passed the SBAC evaluation and eventually led to the awarding of a negotiated contract to the two IPPs on July 26.
Top Team got the Calapan City (6MW), Bansud (5MW), and Roxas (4.3MW) sites and later the Pinamalayan (3MW) area after an IPP which passed an earlier SBAC evaluation withdrew its proposal due to mobilization and technical limitations.
Under the agreement, the power supply shall be delivered via the 69 kV lines of the National Power Corp. while the Pinamalayan, Bansud and Roxas sites will pass through the 13.8kV lines of ORMECO.
The new agreement also stipulates that plants are required to operate for at least 360 hours in a billing period and Top Team will not be allowed to implement a preventive maintenance activity during these required hours of operation.
Provincial Board Member Nino Liwanag, chairman of the Committee on Power and Energy, who was present during the signing agreement has expressed the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s support in all ORMECO-initiated endeavors to improve the supply of electricity in Oriental Mindoro.
Meanwhile, Congressman Arnan C. Panaligan (First District) earlier filed a resolution in the House of Representatives directing the Committee on Energy to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation on the failure of ORMECO Inc. and the IPPs to supply adequate and reliable power to the Mindoro member-consumers.