$35.8 M upgrade of Iloilo electric facilities on track
Enrique Razon Jr. has made progress in upgrading the city’s electricity distribution system two months after unveiling its equipment upgrade program.
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The Philippines, Iloilo City: Enrique Razon Jr., owner of the new power utility in Iloilo City, MORE Electric and Power Corp., has made progress in upgrading the city’s electricity distribution system two months after unveiling its equipment upgrade program.
Ruel Castro, President and COO of MORE Power, said in a statement that the company has so far upgraded 51 distribution transformers, replaced 51 broken electric poles and fixed 97 hotspot connectors in recent weeks.
The utility company is spending $35.8 M (P1.8 B) to rehabilitate and upgrade Iloilo City’s power distribution system in the next three years as part of its program to improve electricity supply, lower the residents’ monthly bill and improve the system’s capacity to handle bigger demand from consumers and industries in the coming years.
Castro said a technical study of the distribution system conducted by PECO’s sister firm, Miescor, revealed that immediate preventive maintenance work or upgrades on almost all of the city’s distribution equipment are needed. Many of these facilities remain manually operated, having been installed as far back as the 1950s.
Miescor also revealed that 9,000 hotspot connectors need to be upgraded or replaced to prevent systemwide damage. Four of the five power substations were found to carry over 90 % load, compared to the prescribed maximum safe level of only 80 %.
“If we do not do anything to fix these substations, one day, one of these substations will fail and might cause a bigger problem,” Castro said.
MORE Power also replaced all the switchboards and transformers in all the five substations, almost 400 distribution transformers, thousands of poles, and 15,000 electric meters in all the residences and business establishments.
It has plans to put up two new substations and a mobile substation to meet the projected increase in electricity consumption as the city’s economy grows in the coming years.
“MORE Power will give Ilonggos lower electricity bills and meet its growing economy’s needs. We are here to be Iloilo City’s partner in its growth,” Castro said.
Source: Business Inquirer