Business

EDC to Power Leyte and Negros Islands

Energy Development Corp. (PSE: EDC), through its Green Core Geothermal Inc. (GCGI) subsidiary, has sealed seven new long-term power supply contracts with electric cooperatives in Leyte and Negros islands to supply 58MW of power.

GCGI signed a 10-year power supply contract with the Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative Inc. (NORECO) for 25MW. The geothermal firm also inked a separate power supply contract with six members of the Association of Visayas Electric Cooperatives (AVEC), namely Negros Oriental I Electric Cooperative Inc. (NORECO I), Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) and VMC Rural Electric Service Cooperative Inc. (VRESCO) in Negros Island; and the Don Orestes Romualdez Electric Cooperative Inc. (DORELCO), Leyte II Electric Cooperative Inc. (LEYECO II), and Leyte V Electric Cooperative Inc. (LEYECO V) in Leyte. GCGI allocated a total of 33MW for the six electric cooperatives.

The contracts of the Visayas electric cooperatives, which aired in December last year, we previously with the National Power Corp. (NPC) before the privatization of the Tongonan 1 and Palinpinon geothermal plants in Leyte and Negros Oriental, respectively. GCGI, which acquired the power plants in 2009, began negotiating with the cooperatives with expiring contracts as early as January 2010.

“From the start, we have always prioritized the electric cooperatives in our host areas as we want them to be the first to enjoy the benefits of having clean, reliable, affordable power. We’re happy that our cooperatives have partnered with us. We offer the most competitive price in the market and we’re investing heavily to improve the reliability of our plants so that power interruptions will be significantly reduced and eventually be eliminated,” said EDC President and COO Richard Tantoco.

GCGI recently signed long-term power supply contracts with the Iloilo I Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO I), Iloilo II Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO II), Aklan Electric Cooperative Inc. (AKELCO), Capiz Electric Cooperative Inc. (CAPELCO), and Dumaguete Coconut Mills Inc. (DUCOMI).

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