SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro (PIA) — National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Antonio Almeda assured the people of Occidental Mindoro that power outages will be significantly reduced, if not completely eradicated, with the 30 megawatts (MW) full capacity operation of Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corporation (OMCPC) starting April 29, 2023.
The 30 MW will be able to cover the province’s peak demand of electricity.
“Last Thursday I sat down with Louie Banson, owner of OMCPC, to determine and solve the problem of why OMCPC’s power plants in the province are not operational…OMCPC’s reluctance to turn on all of its power plants was caused mainly by misinterpretation of OMCPC’s current PSAs and pending clearances,” Almeda said.
Louie Banson, owner of OMCPC, explained that their hesitance to operate the SAMARICA power plant previously was caused by permit issues as the plant’s operation has not been approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
“Kami ay nakatali sa lahat ng permits. Walang permit, walang operation…kung hindi, makukulong ako dahil ilegal ang ginagawa ko,” Banson emphasized.
On this note, Almeda shared that he got clearance from the ERC to start OMCPC SAMARICA’s operation immediately to resolve the power crisis in the province.
With this go-signal, the OMCPC started the SAMARICA plant’s operation on Friday, April 28, which will incur heavy financial loss for Banson, the NEA administrator highlighted.
OMCPC is currently in the pre-filing stage for its SAMARICA power plant.
Banson noted that the delay was caused by the complex requirements for the recently inaugurated solar power plants in the SAMARICA area, but is hopeful that the ERC will grant their file for approval for operation as the upgrade will greatly benefit the people.
Almeda said that with OMCPC’s full capacity operation providing sufficient electricity supply to the province, the Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) with DMCI Power Corporation, will not continue.
Also, Almeda said that this will spare the people with a high cost of electricity as it will be bought with its true generation cost.
Further, the agreement between Power Systems Incorporated (PSI) 5MW plant will continue to operate as a reserve power should there be a power emergency in the province.
A memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the OMCPC and Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (OMECO) was signed during the press conference, stating that the former is in full operation and will continue to supply electricity to the province.
Governor Eduardo Gadiano, House Representative Leody Tarriela, and local government officials were present during the conference. (DSG/PIA MIMAROPA-OccMin)
A memorandum of agreement between OMCPC and Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (OMECO) was signed during the press conference, stating that the former is in full operation and will continue to supply electricity to the province.
