Officials from the provincial government recently met with the management of the Palawan Electric Cooperative (Paleco) to assess the current state of electricity supply and related issues in Palawan.
The meeting on Monday afternoon, led by Governor Dennis Socrates, included key department heads from the Capitol.
Paleco Public Information Officer Janelle Rebusada presented an overview of the electricity supply chain, encompassing generation, transmission, and distribution to households.
The discussion also delved into the present situation of the Palawan Main Grid and Paleco’s initiatives to address electricity flow issues.
One of the topics addressed during the meeting was the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) order that halted the implementation of the Power Supply Agreement between Paleco and Delta P in September 2023.
This forced Paleco to enter into an Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) to ensure continuous electricity supply in the province, albeit with increased electricity rates due to power producers’ tariffs. Consequently, electricity rates in the province rose to P14.7106/KWh in the past three months.
Rebusada explained that failure to enter the EPSA and wait for a 20 MW power supply source without increasing electricity rates would result in widespread and continuous rotational blackouts across the Palawan main grid. However, entering the EPSA caused PALECO to lose its subsidy based on the Department of Energy’s 2023 Competitive Selection Process (CSP) Circular.
To address this issue, PALECO is collaborating with Local Government Units (LGUs), particularly the provincial and city governments, seeking their support in petitioning to amend Section 2.3.5 of the DOE 2023 CSP Circular. This proposed amendment contradicts the provisions of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA Law).
The Provincial Government expressed its readiness to support PALECO’s petition to the DOE and other projects, including coordinating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to expedite the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for SI Power Corp.
This collaboration aims to swiftly address the electricity challenges in the province.
Governor Socrates expressed gratitude for PALECO’s efforts in keeping the Provincial Government informed about the current electricity situation and its ongoing endeavors to find solutions to the cooperative’s challenges.
