NEA Administrator Antonio Almeda, with Congressman Leody Tarriela and San Jose Vice Mayor Sonny Javier, visited the OMCPC’s solar power plant located in Brgy. San Isidro, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. According to OMCPC Chief Operations Officer Calvin Luther R. Genotiva, the plant will be operational on December 28, 2023. (DSG/PIA Occidental Mindoro)
SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro (PIA) — Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corporation (OMCPC) SAMARICA solar power plant is set to operate on December 28, 2023, according to OMCPC Chief Operations Officer Calvin Luther R. Genotiva.
During the field visit of National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Antonio Almeda, he explained that the completion of the solar power plant is the fastest way to lower the price of electricity in the province.
Almeda said that he wanted to see and personally assess the current construction of the solar component of the OMCPC, “The solar plant is the only reason why the [Competitive Selection Process or] CSP conducted before cannot be granted a provisional authority [to operate for OMCPC SAMARICA Plant].”
For this reason, Almeda explained, the Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (OMECO) entered into an Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) on July 25, 2023, to prevent another power crisis in the province, “[EPSA happened] simply because the [Energy Regulatory Commission or] ERC cannot unbundle the three sources of power in the conducted CSP namely: diesel, bunker, and solar. Ang diesel at bunker nandiyan na, ang kulang na lang ay solar [power] plant.”
He added that when the solar power plant is complete, the ERC can issue a certificate of compliance (COC) leading to a provisional authority to operate for the OMCPC SAMARICA plant, “That is the shortest way we can bring back the subsidy [para mapababa ang presyo ng kuryente].”
Since the implementation of EPSA with OMCPC SAMARICA in the province, the power rates have climbed up to P20.5184 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for residential connections for November 2023 billing, almost 75% higher versus pre-EPSA.
Under EPSA, electric consumers in mainland Occidental Mindoro have been paying the true cost generation rate (TCGR). The OMCPC SAMARICA provides 13.78 megawatt (MW) of power according to the latest report of OMECO which covers more than 50% of the total electricity demand of the province.
“Tayo sa national government, through NEA, ay hindi tumitigil gumawa ng solusyon sa naging problema natin [sa kuryente] sa tulong ni Congressman Odie Tarriela…ako’y nananawagan sa mga [konsumidor] ng kaunting pasensya lang po at lahat naman ng solusyon at hindi nangyayari overnight. Siguro naramdaman niyo na ang bentahe na wala tayong brownout, ang susunod naman nating gagawin ay kung paano makakapagbigay ng murang kuryente,” the NEA Administrator said.
The P500 million solar farm is being constructed at Brgy. San Isidro in the municipality of San Jose. The power plant will be capable of producing 7.4 MW of electricity using 13,600 solar panels constructed on a seven (7) hectare land.
Genotiva reported that their team installs 2,000 panels a day, with more than 200 workers laboring 24/7. He added that their team is looking for an additional 200 workers, and invited interested applicants to submit their resumes to their office in Brgy. Central, San Jose. (DSG/PIA MIMAROPA – Occidental Mindoro)
