MORE Power told to upgrade connectors in Iloilo franchise

By Lenie Lectura May 26, 2020
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/05/26/more-power-told-to-upgrade-connectors-in-iloilo-franchise/

Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corp. (MIESCOR), which has conducted a technical study of Iloilo City’s electric distribution system, has advised More Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) to upgrade 9,000 hot spot connectors to prevent system-wide damage to the facility.

MORE Power President and Chief Operating Officer Ruel Castro said this was part of the study undertaken by MIESCOR. He said immediate preventive maintenance work must be carried out.

MIESCOR’s findings also showed that four of the five power substations were found to carry over 90 percent load, a dangerous level that could cause damage to the distribution lines and safety switches as the safe level allowed is between 70 percent and 80 percent load capacity.

“If we will not do anything to fix these substations…one day one of these substations will fail and may cause a bigger problem,” Castro said. “I am sorry to use the term … but the system that we took over is dilapidated.”

MORE Power inherited all the distribution facilities of Panay Electric Co. after it took over the distribution system as the new congressional franchise owner.

MORE Power has rehabilitated 51 distribution transformers, replaced 51 broken electric poles and fixed 97 hotspot connectors since the issuance of its provisional authority by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in March this year.

The distribution utility firm is spending P1.8 billion to rehabilitate and upgrade Iloilo City’s power distribution system in the next three years.

So far, MORE Power has replaced all switchboards and transformers in all the five substations, almost 400 distribution transformers, thousands of poles, and 15,000 electric meters in all the residences and business establishments in place of the old ones put by PECO.

He also reported that MORE Power has moved to bring down systems loss, or the amount of electricity lost due to inefficient distribution because of faulty lines and equipment, or from pilferage, which used to be 9.03 percent last year.

The ERC has imposed a systems loss cap of 6.5-percent.

A 9 percent systems loss could mean 20,000 illegal connections in Iloilo City, said Castro.