Amreco-supplied areas in Mindanao assured of 300MW supply by 2017

The different provinces in Mindanao relying on the different electric cooperatives for their power supply are assured of a 300-MegaWatt supply by 2017 but are at a quandary as to where to source power from now up to 2015.

“We have already contracted with GN Power and the Amreco-PSAG (Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperative- Power Supply Aggregation Group) for our projected 300-MW demand for 2017,” Amreco President Sergio C. Dagooc told BusinessWorld Tuesday.

Amreco is composed of 33 electric cooperatives, six of which are considered SPUG or Small Power Utilities Group located in different Mindanao islands such as Jolo, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Dinagat and Basilan. The six cooperatives have their own generators while the 27 others rely on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

All the six electric cooperatives are under the National Power Corporation (NPC) as per Republic Act 9136 which mandates the NPC to operate power plants in isolated islands in the country.

He said Amreco accounts for 60% market share or an estimated 1,941,554 residential consumers in Mindanao. The rest of the market is accounted for by private electric companies like the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) and the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company, Inc.(CEPALCO).

Mr. Dagooc said 80% of their member cooperatives are Triple A cooperatives which means these are “financially, technically and institutionally stable.” However, he added, 20% of its members are hard-up electric cooperatives located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Among the top cooperatives are servicing the Davao Region namely Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative (Dasureco), Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative (Doreco) and the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) which used to be a top-performing cooperative before it got embroiled in its present controversy.

Twenty-seven of the member coops are hooked up with the island’s transmission grid while another six operate in the off-grid islands surrounding the main island of Mindanao.

“While most of our member cooperatives are doing good we have to unify our resources to help ailing members such as those in the ARMM,” he said.

Amreco-PSAG Executive Director Clint Django Pacana said these cooperatives are non-stock, non-profit organizations that rely on the P6,000 monthly dues of its members for its continued operation. This is mainly the reason why PSAG was formed and do business in the power industry, he added.

Amreco recently conveyed to Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla its opposition to the Price Determination Methodology (PDM) of the Philippine Electricity Market Cooperation (PEMC) which will be used by the Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (Imem).

Mr. Dagooc said while they are not against Imem’s implementation, they are protesting some of its provisions. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved last September PEMC's Pricing and Cost Recovery Methodology (PCRM) which allows the use of the PDM in the establishment of power rates. He said they are protesting the rule which states that “the Imem Day-Ahead Price (Idap) shall correspond to the highest offer price fully or partially scheduled for the particular Imem trading interval."

Mr. Dagooc said this will leave the power distributors with no choice but to pay for the highest power rates no matter their choice of power generator and its previously offered rate.