business mirror
WEDNESDAY, 25 MAY 2011 20:02 BUTCH D. EMERIO / CORRESPONDENT
MEDINA, Misamis Oriental—Steag State Power Inc., with the local and provincial governments and the Misamis Oriental II Rural Electrification Service Cooperative (Moresco II), formally provided last week electricity to the 16 communities in five municipalities in this province, the first such electrification project for a power generator.
The P7.35-million Missionary Rural Electrification Project implemented by Moresco II was funded from the proceeds of the one-centavo-per-kilowatt-hour electricity sales of Steag since it started the operation of its Mindanao coal-fired power plant in Villanueva town in this province five years ago.
Gov. Oscar Moreno, whose administration has been steadfast in bringing power to the barangays of the province, said the effort of both Moresco II and Steag is a dream come true for the beneficiaries of the project, considering that the newly energized villages are located in far-flung areas in the municipalities of Sugbongcogon, Kinoguitan, Balingoan, Claveria and Medina, where 10 of the 16 project sites are located
Steag’s power generation contributes 20 percent to the Mindanao grid. The company has remitted to the government, through the Department of Energy (DOE), P67 million for the ER 1-94 program, particularly the electrification of barangays in the country.
Dr. Bodo Goerlich, president and chief executive officer of Steag, said their recent endeavor is the first of the wave of electrification projects that Steag and its partners in the energy sector would undertake within the 25 years of operation of its power plant.
“We are honored and grateful for having been given the opportunity to help the people even in the far-flung communities, and this is the first wave of a series of electrification projects that we, together with our partners in the energy sector like Moresco, will endeavor to undertake within the 25 years of our power-plant operations,” Goerlich said.
Goerlich said while the recent project was mandated under the ER 1-94 guidelines of the DOE, wherein a power generator set aside a part of its sales for energization projects and social and environment programs, Steag’s commitment goes far beyond what has been mandated.
“As a matter of fact, through the years, we have undertaken several programs that have benefited thousands of residents in the province along the areas of education, health, skills development and environmental protection,” said Goerlich.
He also announced during the turnover ceremony and the ceremonial switching here that this year Steag will endeavor to help bring about people empowerment as the power firm has secured a financial grant of €260,000, or about P16 million, to support Misamis Oriental in its poverty-reduction efforts.
Together with its partners in the national and local government units and nongovernment organizations operating in the area, Steag will establish an integrated community-based monitoring system and help enhance local government units’ capability in poverty diagnosis, social-investment planning and management.
No comments:
Post a Comment