Bantayan Island gets emergency power supply

By Lenie Lectura – September 14, 2020
from Business Mirror

Isla Norte Energy Corp. (INEC), a joint venture of Vivant Energy and Gigawatt Power Corp., has provided Bantayan Island a three-megawatt (MW) power facility to temporarily address the power outage incidents in Northern Cebu.

INEC said it brought the power generators to provide power to Bantayan Electric Cooperative (BANELCO), which claimed that it has been frequently experiencing outages.

“The welfare and comfort of BANELCO member-consumer-owners have been and will always be our utmost priority. The past several months had been a nightmare and an unfortunate experience that we wish will not happen again,” BANELCO General Manager Lee Rivera said.  “The generators now provide nearly half of the island’s total demand. It’s not the ultimate solution but it will greatly improve the power supply situation in Bantayan Island.” BANELCO sought for an exemption from the conduct of a competitive selection process (CSP) for the procurement of the 3MW emergency power supply, which was approved by the Department of Energy (DOE).

“We’re honored to be given this opportunity to help the people of Bantayan, both by bringing in emergency power supply and through our long-term commitment to provide sufficient and reliable power with the INEC power plant. This is part of our commitment to help the social and economic development of Cebu, our home province,” said Vivant Energy President Arlo A. G. Sarmiento.

INEC said it is constructing a 23.3-MW diesel power plant that will supply the long-term total power requirement of Bantayan Island. This after INEC has been awarded a 15-year contract to supply BANELCO’s power requirements following a successful CSP.  The INEC plant is expected to be completed in 2021.