April 3, 2019 | 12:02 am
MERALCO PowerGen Corp. (MGen), the
distribution utility’s power generation arm, has stepped up the development of
its baseload plant in Atimonan with the crafting of a comprehensive land use
plan for the town in Quezon province.
The company said its unit Atimonan
One Energy, Inc. (A1E) along with Grandt Planners, Inc. turned over the land
use plan to leaders of the local government unit.
It described the power plant as
“among the key infrastructures expected to rise in Atimonan in the future.”
“We all agree that what we want to
happen in Atimonan is for the common good of everyone,” said Rogelio L.
Singson, MGEN president and chief executive officer, during the turnover event.
He said MGen aspires to set a
standard of excellence not only in power plant operations but also in
developing and engaging host communities to make them progressive and
sustainable.
MGen said Atimonan’s land use plan
is a product of a series of discussions and planning sessions that were
conducted in 2018. It described the plan as “a document prepared by cities and
municipalities to rationalize the allocation and proper use of its land
resources.”
The plan also maps out the public
and private land uses, which will be enacted through a zoning ordinance. The
assistance for the development of the plan was provided for in an underlying
memorandum agreement between A1E and the Atimonan local government.
Under the agreement, A1E provided
assistance in the preparation of a study that optimizes socioeconomic benefits
from the power plant development. A1E tapped Grandt Planners as a third-party
consultant to aid the municipality in development strategies that can serve as
basis for the land use plan and zoning ordinances.
Grandt Planners and A1E provided
assistance for the development of the plan, which charts Atimonan’s development
as an agro-industrial center, anchored on agriculture and tourism.
MGen quoted Atimonan Mayor Rustico
Joven Mendoza, who led the local leaders, as saying: “This [comprehensive land
use plan] seeks to achieve a synchronized development, supported by an adaptive
infrastructure system in Atimonan.”
A1E is awaiting the regulator’s
approval of its power supply agreement, which remains hanging as the Energy
Regulatory Commission deferred to the Supreme Court’s decision before clearing
the application.
The agreement had been questioned in
court because of the timing of its filing, which was just before rules on
competitive selection process (CSP) were issued.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder,
Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings
Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest
Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the
Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon
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