Power crisis looks over Bantayan Island?
A POWER crisis seems to loom over the bustling Bantayan Island off northern Cebu province with the contest between two bidders still unresolved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
This developed as local power distributor Bantayan Island Electric Cooperative (Banelco) admitted that its preferred generation firm, Isla Norte Energy Corp., would be charging higher rates than that of the existing electricity provider, the Bantayan Island Power Corp. (Bipcor).
The 15-year contract of Bipcor will expire on Nov. 8, 2021 while the ERC remains undecided on the draft power supply agreement (PSA) filed by the INEC.
However, Bipcor raised legal infirmities of the deal between INEC and Banelco, alleging that the bids and award committee did not follow the rules when it selected and ruled in favor of Vivant Energy Corp., INEC’s holding company that actually took part in the bidding.
INEC was eventually introduced as Vivant’s substitute in the unfinished transaction, the legality of which was also questioned by Bipcor.
To resolve the issue and ward off the likelihood of an indefinite blackout in Bantayan, Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia called for an emergency meeting last Thursday, attended by representatives of Bipcor and INEC, the local electric cooperative, the ERC, and the mayors of the three Bantayan towns.
Asked by the governor about his company’s power generation capacity, the Bipcor representative said they have more than enough to meet the demand of seven megawatts, augmented by two rented generators set in place since last Sept. 14. Bipcor has also signified its offer to continue to supply power to the island beyond the expiration of their PSA.
The governor said that she had made representations with ERC chief Agnes Devanadera on behalf of INEC, telling the latter that INEC had already completed the testing and commissioning of its new power plant in Bantayan.
The ERC representative informed Garcia that the provisional authority for INEC’s PSA to be conferred by the Banelco was still under deliberation by the regulatory body, adding that INEC’s application for COC was likewise still under study by the ERC technical division.
The BIPCOR representative also emphasized that while there was a recent incident of brownout, Bipcor has been doing its best to deliver reliable and sustainable service, adding that outages could not be entirely avoided due to other factors, including faults in the distribution lines that are Banelco’s responsibility.
