Electric co-ops link arms to avert power crisis

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Electric cooperatives (ECs) from the Cordilleras 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 Cooperative (Beneco), 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 the 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.