Published
By Myrna M. Velasco
The year is already
turning in a new leaf, but the two regulatory periods of capital expenditure
(capex) applications of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) totaling P39.8 billion
are still awaiting regulatory approval.
These programmed
capital spending have been set at P18.8 billion for regulatory year July 1,
2016 to June 30, 2017; and P21.0 billion for the regulatory year ending June
30, 2019.
Scheduled capex of
regulated entities like Meralco would need to go through the approval of the
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) before capital outlay could be earmarked for
certain projects.
“These have been filed,
but they’re not yet approved. The only ones partially approved were those on
first and second regulatory years,” Meralco President and Chief Executive
Officer Oscar S. Reyes said.
For very immediate
projects, Meralco Chief Financial Officer Betty Siy-Yap indicated that the
utility firm’s usual recourse is to file for emergency capex – which in the
first half of 2018 alone reached as much as P4.0 billion.
“We’ve been filing for
emergency capex. But what we’ve done, we manifested that we need approval
because basically our lineup up of projects is already loaded,” she stressed.
The officials of the
company further indicated that in the roll of these emergency capex allotments
included critically loaded facilities, mandatory maintenance and requirements
for new connections.
The company has also
been shelling out immense capital outlay on clearing and relocation of its
power facilities (i.e. electric poles) that could be traversed by the “Build,
Build, Build” projects of the Duterte administration.
From January to
September 2018 alone, the power distribution firm noted that it already spent
P10.1 billion of its programmed capex.
Among its major capital
project undertakings during the period had been the installations of North Port
Bank No.6 and Balintawak Bank No. 6 “to replace defective power transformers.”
The company’s other
electric capital projects include the various distribution line projects – such
as unloading, conversion, re-termination, flexibility improvement and
construction of new lines.
It also advanced
further on the relocation of electric poles relative to a road widening project
of the Department of Public Works and Highways, as well as the other Build,
Build, Build and the private-public partnership (PPP) projects of the
government. (MMV)
No comments:
Post a Comment