SM Energy inks ‘EPSA’ with Albay; power supply now assured

THE looming power supply in the province of Albay that would be evidenced by daily “massive” power outages has been averted after the province’s electric cooperative, with the help of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the provincial government successfully negotiated an ‘emergency power supply agreement’ (EPSA) with San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC), one of the country’s biggest electricity producers.

At a press conference at the Provincial Guest House last January 6, 2023, Albay Governor Edcel Greco “Grex” Lagman, son of House stalwart, Rep. Edcel Lagman, said the EPSA guarantees power supply to the entire province for the duration of 2023.

The ‘good news’ came after an initial shaky transition from the Albay Power and Energy Corporation (APEC), the erstwhile management concessionaire of the Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO).

ALECO Acting General Manager Engr. Wilfredo Bucsit, in the same press conference, assured Albayanos of the viability of ALECO’s operations in the coming months, noting the announcement has “buoyed up” the spirit of residents.

However, he conceded that ALECO remains an “ailing cooperative” with “stage three cancer” but expressed the hope that it could still recover and become a viable electric cooperative again.

To assist ALECO, Lagman bared the provincial government has prepared a disbursement voucher for the payment of its P 1.7 million debts. He said the provincial government is taking the lead in paying ALECO to encourage the other 18 LGUs comprising Albay to follow suit.

Lagman added that P68 million has been allocated for ALECO to construct at least two electric substations to help reduce its transmission losses.

Lagman, who was elected vice governor during the May 9, 2022 elections, took over from Gov. Noel Ebriga Rosal who defeated Gov. Al Francis Bichara in the same polls.

However, Rosal was dismissed from his post after being disqualified by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) last September 19, 2022.

Rosal was accused of “overspending” during the campaign period, the same ground that led to the disqualification of former Laguna Governor ER Ejercito after the 2013 midterm polls.

Rosal’s dismissal by the COMELEC became final last November 29, 2022.

It was Rosal who terminated the concession agreement between APEC and ALECO by calling for a “special annual general membership assembly” of the cooperative last September 3, 2022, some two weeks before the poll body issued its ruling against him.

The termination of the agreement with APEC paved the way for ALECO to fully manage and operate the purchase and distribution of electricity to the whole province once again starting on December 25, 2022, Christmas Day.

However, there was no power supplier willing to help ALECO, Bucsit noted.

Records show that ALECO is already indebted to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and the Independent Electricity Market Operators of the Philippines (IMEOP) and with APEC to the tune of around P500 million.

ALECO also debunked the earlier pronouncement of Rosal that to keep its operations going, the provincial government would allocate P200 million to bail out the cooperative as the proposal is “legally untenable” as LGUs cannot use public funds to loan to or subsidize, the operation of an electric cooperative.

On the other hand, NEA can only provide a “maximum loan” of P50 million to ALECO.

The situation prompted Lagman to instead support the effort of NEA administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda to negotiate with Ramon Ang, owner of SMEC.

Aside from granting an EPSA to ALECO covering the entire year, Ang, reports said, also agreed to shell out P500 million to settle its account with APEC.

Aside from committing to support the management team of ALECO under Bucsit, Lagman said he would also support its campaign against pilferage and illegal connections thru the assistance of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Franco Deocaris).