ILOILO CITY — Global Business Power Corp. (GBP) is wooing four industrial companies to set up shop in Iloilo City to maximize the available power supply during off-peak hours.
“Right now, apat na kausap namin… (we are talking to four) about four of different industries, may (there is a) heavy (industry), that is our little contribution to the economy. We are on the negotiation stage,” GBP President Jaime T. Azurin announced in December.
Mr. Azurin declined to name the companies, but said they could bring in a combined investment of about P4.5 billion.
“These industries are too dependent on electricity. They looked at cost, reliability, and stability. That’s why we offer the three, trying to give them better rates, allowing them to locate within our premises,” he said.
GBP — a joint venture among Beacon PowerGen Holdings, Inc. (56%), JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (30%), and Meralco PowerGen (14%), a wholly owned subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) — has five subsidiaries located within the Visayas and Mindoro.
In Iloilo City, it owns and operates coal-fired and diesel-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 314 megawatts (MW). It also has diesel-fired power plants in the towns of Nabas and New Washington in Aklan.
Mr. Azurin said while power consumption in Iloilo City and Western Visayas Region has been increasing with the economy’s growth, significant supply remains untapped during the off-peak period.
“When we are going to continue to grow our (shopping) malls, we have so many of them which uses power during peak (hours), and the problem is where do we sell power during the off-peak [hours and] at night. That is why to be able to maximize the efficient use of power plants, we need industries,” he said, adding that “we have taken it upon ourselves to invite industries” coming in Iloilo City.
Petronilo R. Madrid, GBP first vice-president for Panay operations, said industrial firms are keen on doing business in Iloilo because of the city’s infrastructure and ports.
“They were attracted by proximity to international ports, the road networks so ‘yun ‘yung maganda (that is what’s attractive), the environment, location of the plant… (it’s) suitable for them,” Mr. Madrid said.
Mr. Azurin said he was hopeful that the companies would finalize their decisions and make announcements this year.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.— Emme Rose S. Santiagudo
