By Jordeene B. Lagare June 22, 2020
ABOITIZ Power Corp. is set to remit
a total of P351.6 million to some of its host communities for hosting the
listed firm’s power facilities.
In a statement on Sunday, the listed
firm said it recently turned over about P140.1 million worth of generation
shares to some 36 host beneficiaries of its subsidiaries AP Renewables Inc.
(APRI) and San Carlos Sun Power Inc. (SacaSun).
“The remaining funds are still being
processed and will likewise be turned over to the host beneficiaries as soon as
available,” it added.
Host beneficiaries of APRI and
SacaSun include 24 barangay (villages), three municipalities, and two cities in
the provinces of Albay, Batangas, Laguna and Negros Occidental.
Regions 4A (Calabarzon), 5 (Bicol
Region) and 6 (Western Visayas), through the Regional Development Council
(RDC), will also be given shares which they can allocate to their chosen
non-host local government units (LGUs) of both AboitizPower subsidiaries within
their respective regions.
This is pursuant to the Energy
Regulations 1-94 (ER 1-94) Program of the Department of Energy, in which
communities are entitled to one centavo per kilowatt-hour share in the total
electricity sales of a power generating facility.
Last April 6, Energy Secretary
Alfonso Cusi signed Department Circular 2020-04-0008 that allows LGUs to use a
portion of the communities’ share in energy sales to mitigate the effects of
the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, in accordance with Republic
Act 11469, or the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.”
“We don’t know how long this crisis
will last. I see the accrued ER 1-94 fund as a blessing. This is God’s
provision that our host communities can tap and utilize at this very difficult
moment in our nation’s history. May they be able to use this resource to help
contain, mitigate, and eventually eliminate the spread of Covid-19 in their
respective areas,” AboitizPower Geothermal and Solar Business Units President
and Chief Operating Officer Dennis Jordan said.
Covid-19 response initiatives that were
so far implemented by said LGUs include establishing holding areas or
distribution centers, distributing medical and personal protective equipment,
facility decontamination, and relief goods distribution to feed low-income
households during the prolonged quarantine period.
The said funding can also be
utilized for mass testing, subsidy programs (non-food items), mobile market to
ensure uninterrupted availability of essential goods, construction of
quarantine centers, provision of cremation and burial services, electricity
cost subsidies to newly constructed health facilities, and all other reasonable
means or measure to mitigate, contain and eliminate transmission of the virus.
AboitizPower shares fell by 20
centavos or 0.71 percent to close at P27.80 each on Friday.
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