Razon-led More Electric and Power Corp. will be sourcing 20 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from Energy Development Corp. (EDC) starting on July 25, the parent firm of the Lopez-led company said on Wednesday.
In a statement, First Gen Corp. said the power supply deal is a result of the competitive selection process conducted by More in which its unit EDC submitted the lowest bid among three energy generators.
It added that More’s move to source clean energy is part of the distribution utility’s “customer welfare-driven initiatives” that aim to provide Iloilo City with stable and reliable power at fixed rates.
First Gen quoted More President and Chief Executive Officer Roel Z. Castro as saying: “We are confident that this partnership with First Gen and EDC will give us both our priorities that will benefit our consumers in the long term. Especially now that global fuel prices are, and will continue to be volatile, having renewable energy in our portfolio will save our consumers from high electricity costs.”
“Green power is not only reliable but also affordable,” he said, adding that the company’s priority is affordable electricity, “then having renewable energy in our portfolio.”
The five-year power supply to More will come from one of EDC’s largest geothermal facilities, the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant.
“We are thankful for this new partnership and we hope that this is only the beginning of a long and successful relationship,” Mr. Castro said during the ceremonial contract signing on June 28.
First Gen said geothermal energy is considered the Holy Grail of renewable energy (RE) technologies because it can provide uninterrupted baseload power, or what EDC calls Geo 24/7.
It added that since geothermal energy hardly emits carbon dioxide, being powered by Geo 24/7 will also enable More to avoid releasing to the atmosphere a minimum of 124,942 tons annually of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
Marvin S. Bailon, EDC vice-president and head of business development, said the partnership “will not only benefit both parties but will also help our country decarbonize and meet its target to reduce its carbon emissions.”
He was referring to the government’s commitment under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030.
More, a subsidiary of Prime Strategic Holdings, Inc., has a 25-year franchise to provide power to Iloilo City’s around 87,000 consumers.
EDC has more than 1,480 MW of installed capacity, which accounts for around 20% of the country’s renewables capacity. Its geothermal portfolio at 1,185.4 MW accounts for 62% of the country’s installed geothermal capacity. — VVS
