MORESCO 2 pledges to fix worn-out powerlines to improve system reliability

By Manila Standard Business – February 21, 2025, 7:40 pm

National Electrification Administration administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda rallied behind electric cooperative (EC) member-consumer-owners (MCOs) on Feb. 21, 2025, at the Misamis Oriental Power Consumers’ Forum in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental.

Almeda reiterated his commitment to help provide solutions with respect to the ongoing problems affecting the distribution network of the Misamis Oriental II Rural Electric Service Cooperative, Inc. (MORESCO 2), resulting in frequent outages.

In his previous dialogues with concerned rural electrification officials, the administrator said it was explained that the root cause of the problem is the aging powerline backbone.

He said NEA and MORESCO 2 are already in the process of rehabilitating this system.

The NEA chief also announced some of his plans and ongoing programs of the state-owned corporation aimed at improving the services of the Medina-based power utility. He pointed out his directive to all concerned ECs not to allow themselves fall behind in the industry.

Almeda mentioned projects such as the solar photovoltaic mainstreaming (PVM) system, which aims to connect distant households and schools that remain isolated from the power grid.

Meanwhile, the NEA chief also made a personal appeal to local government officials regarding tax exemptions granted to ECs based on the recently signed joint memorandum circular (JMC) between the Departments of Energy and Finance.

“May I request to all of the mayors who are here? I hope we can comply with the joint memorandum circular. It would mean a lot for the cooperative,” he said.

Also present at the gathering were Gingoog City Mayor Erick Cañosa, APEC party-list Rep. Sergio Dagooc, MORESCO 2 general manager Edna Putian-Diango, Department of Energy director Irma Exconde, NEDA OIC regional director Richardson Cua, and other NEA and EC officials.