ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/8 March) – A power company is planning to put up diesel and bunker fuel power generators in Basilan and thus help eradicate the brownout problem in the island.
Basilan Gov. Jum Akbar said that Coastalpower Development Corporation is pushing through with its plan to invest P112.5 million to put up the plants.
Coastalpower and Basilan Electric Cooperative (Baselco), the governor said, have agreed to undertake a joint venture to establish the Basilan Island Power, Inc.
Akbar said the generators, which will supply 9 to 14 megawatts of electricity, would be established within a six-month period. Construction work, he added, would start anytime this year.
“Once Coastalpower plants’ are operational, there would still be excess 5.2mw of electricity in December,” the governor said.
The electricity needs of Basilan is being supplied by Baselco, which has been in existence for three decades.
A rotational blackout is being implemented in the province since Baselco’s total power distributed to the whole province is only 6.81mw, which is below the estimated power demand of 8mw.
Meanwhile, Akbar announced that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) is allocating P200 million to energize all of the barangays in Basilan province.
Of the total 255 barangays in Basilan, only around 84 percent, or 215 barangays, are energized. The actual number of households energized, however, constitute only 39 percent (24,098) of the total 61,456 households in the province.
Akbar said the P200-million fund will be allocated through OPAPP’s Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program. (MindaNews)
