The businessmen in the Visayas region were impressed with how well More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) improved the services of electric distribution in Iloilo City in the past two years and a half.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently held 31st Visayas Area Business Conference by Ormoc City, Leyte with a theme “From setbacks to comebacks: Getting business back on track” attended by almost a thousand delegates.
MORE Power president and CEO Roel Z. Castro was invited speaker in the event, and he discussed the distribution utility’s story and how is it a perfect example of the conference theme which focused on innovations for sustainable energy supply toward a cost-effective and efficient energization.
Castro narrated the challenges the company faced when it began operation in 2020 such as very high system loss, dilapidated and neglected facilities, dangerously overloaded systems, and high electricity rates. He explained the things they did to transform not only the system but also the services to consumers.
There was no magic used to be able to experience what Iloilo City consumers enjoy now, he pointed out.
“There were five things that we think we have – first is the financial capability because to rehabilitate the facilities, increase capacity and reliability, prepare for automation via a digital platform, and continuously train personnel, we need to invest and we invested over P1.3 billion so far”, Castro initially highlighted.
“The second critical aspect is technical capability. We recruited personnel with a high level of integrity and technical expertise and employed reputable contractors with long technical experience. Next is to have an innovative mindset. Another important factor is to be socially responsible which I think is second nature to MORE Power,” Castro enthusiastically elaborated.
“We did this by optimizing the use of renewable energy and non-indexed sources, by consciously looking for facility and process solutions that would bring less destruction to the environment, and by constantly inculcating the benefits of sustainability to employees and the other stakeholders”, Castro explained.
Leyte 4th district congressman Richard Gomez, Mr. Carlos Vega of First Gen Corporation, Mr. Quintin Pastrana of WEnergy Power Pilipinas, and Mr. Felix Taguiam of Decoline Inc. served as panelists and reactors of the conference.
Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida, Regional Governor of PCCI Region 6, was very ecstatic about the turnout of the business conference.
“We are truly proud of Mr. Roel Castro’s presentation on what MORE Power has accomplished for Iloilo City in just a little over two years, they have greatly improved the facilities and services as well as significantly decreased the cost of electricity and they did it all during the pandemic”, Peñaflorida emphasized.
He took notice of how all the other chambers in the Visayas wanted to replicate the success story of Iloilo.
“More Power’s strides in the power distribution sector are reflective of the continuing efforts of Iloilo to harness public-private partnerships as we all aim to recover together,” he concluded.
Iloilo PCCI President Mr. Fulbert Woo described MORE Power’s presence in Iloilo as “one of the ideals if not superb”, particularly the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility efforts.
