GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 17 October) — Power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) reaffirmed its offer to enter into a joint venture with the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative Inc. (Socoteco II), saying it is ready to invest “billions” to help strengthen power reliability and quality in the area.
Lawyer Arnel Paciano Casanova, Meralco’s Senior Vice President and Chief External and Government Affairs Officer, said they are awaiting Socoteco II’s response to its formal joint venture proposal, which was sent earlier this year through two official letters.
“So far, we haven’t really received a formal response from Socoteco II yet. We understand that their board and management are still discussing the matter,” Casanova said in an interview with Brigada News here on Thursday.
Socoteco II issued a statement on Oct. 14 saying it is “not engaged in any discussions or negotiations concerning a potential joint venture with any private distribution utility” and noted that it “remains strategically focused on restoring operational performance, closing critical efficiency gaps, and ensuring full compliance with all regulatory mandates.”
It said the cooperative is “not considering any form of partnership or collaboration with private utility entities at this time.”
But Casanova said they remain hopeful of forging a deal with Socoteco II to ensure stable power supply and distribution in its franchise area amid rising electricity demand from households, businesses, and industries.
The electric cooperative serves this city, the entire province of Sarangani and the municipalities of Polomolok and Tupi in South Cotabato.
“We just want to extend our hand to help. This is a Meralco initiative to assist (Socoteco II) in providing better and quality services to consumers — that’s our only interest here,” he said.
He said Socoteco II plays a critical role in Mindanao’s economic growth, especially since Region 12 or Soccsksargen is an “industrializing region and would need reliable power.”
The number of brownouts and power fluctuations should be lessened so investors and industries could come in and eventually grow, he said.
Data from the Department of Energy showed that Socoteco II’s peak demand from franchise and captive consumers currently stands at 194.58 megawatts (MW), with an annual demand growth rate of 2.28 percent from 2016 to 2025.
It has 205 MW in contracted supply for captive consumers and an additional 110 MW awaiting approval under power supply agreements.
The cooperative serves 149,769 residential, 9,788 commercial, 234 industrial, and 7,993 other captive consumers, covering a franchise population of 1,137,106 across 204 barangays. Of the 303,000 total households in its coverage area, 173,052 or 57.1 percent have been energized as of this year.
Casanova said reliable power supply had been a challenge for businesses and industries in the area, especially the agro-industrial companies.
“Industries cannot move into GenSan or the Soccsksargen region if they believe there’s a power problem. Even one or two-hour brownouts are damaging. We’ve spoken with aquaculture players, and they told us power interruptions can severely impact shrimp production. Imagine what happens when manufacturing or steel plants start operating here,” he said.
He explained that unreliable power not only increases operational costs but also limits growth among micro, small, and medium enterprises, with the cost of acquiring generators and using diesel eating into their profits.
Casanova said Meralco’s proposal involves a massive infusion of capital to upgrade distribution lines, build more substations, and introduce smart grid systems to enhance efficiency and minimize systems losses.
He acknowledged that there are other groups that are also interested in partnering with Socoteco II and they “welcome the competition.”
“We have the best technology when it comes to infrastructure and distribution. On average, Meralco consumers experience only one brownout a year even during typhoons. Our goal is to bring that same reliability to Mindanao,” he said.
Meralco is owned and controlled by the MVP group of Companies of tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan. The MVP Group’s Metro Pacific Health had acquired the St. Elizabeth Hospital here and the Howard Hubbard Memorial Hospital in Polomolok, South Cotabato. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)
