New transmission line to avert power outages this year

By Alena Mae S. Flores

POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. said

Tuesday the completion of the HermosaSan Jose transmission line and the onset of the rainy season will help avert power outages this year.

Meralco first vice president and head of networks Ronnie Aperocho said the power outages on May 8 that affected close to 322,000 customers were due to the tripping of transmission facilities that isolated two major power plants in the north with a combined capacity of 680 megawatts.

Aperocho said Meralco is in close coordination with the system operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in the monitoring of the Luzon grid.

“But as the supply-demand situation normalizes with the onset of the rainy season, we may not expect the same power outages to happen this year,” he said.

DIGITAL

Aperocho said NGCP completed and energized the new Hermosa –San Jose 500kV line, a major transmission backbone that will address the N-1 transmission constraints in the area.

The project, which spans the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan, will strengthen transmission services and accommodate new bulk power generation from the Bataan area.

Meanwhile, Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said the power generation business would boost the company’s profitability this year after some of its power plants suffered losses in the last year.

“Management has been tasked to look for ways to turn around those losing plants and indeed starting this year, GBP [Global Business Power Corp.] as a whole, and MGen [Meralco PowerGen Corp.] as a whole have already turned positive and are now contributing to Meralco’s bottom line with the end of the fixed-rate contracts,”

Pangilinan said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting.

Pangilinan took over as Meralco chairman, president and chief executive effective May 30 with the retirement of Ray Espinosa who served the company since 2019. Espinosa will stay on as part of the Meralco board.

“We should see a significant update in the profits of the generation part of the business. And we saw that in this morning’s board meeting when the results of the generation business were reported to the board. So it will be a good year for the generation business, so I think we need to allay your concerns, and I think in general a good year for Meralco as a whole,” Pangilinan said. He said the expansion of Meralco subsidiaries both in power and non-power alike is one of the growth pillars of the company’s business prospects.

Pse Index Closing

URC, one of the Philippines’ largest food manufacturers, is seeking to accommodate more sugarcane farmers at its Balayan mill to help secure a source of livelihood for them. Raising the mill’s capacity will ensure ample sugar supply for consumers, it said.

The new machinery and equipment from CADPI, a subsidiary of listed Roxas Holdings Inc. that permanently shut down its milling operations, will increase the Balayan mill’s capacity from about 5,000 tons to 8,000 tons a day.

URC said farmers were suffering from low sugar recovery on their sugarcane deliveries due to long waiting time in the truck yard. Some farmers say they may either stop farming or shift to planting lowvalue crops.

“The situation, if not immediately addressed, poses a grave threat to the livelihood of the farmers, as well as the entire sugarcane industry in Batangas, and will aggravate the current sugar shortage in the country,” the company said.

URC sugar and renewables general manager Rene Cabati earlier said URC will mill as much sugarcane as possible from planters displaced by CADPI’s permanent shutdown.

Apart from acquiring CADPI’s machinery and equipment, URC’s Balayan mill is also extending its milling season which normally ends in April until the month of June.

URC said its decision to acquire CADPI’s machinery and equipment has cut the time needed to expand the Balayan mill to two years from four years.

CADPI decided to permanently close its milling operations due to dwindling supply of sugarcane from farmers that undermines the total capacity of the mill.

The 2nd Digital Financial Inclusion Awards is set to recognize the country’s outstanding microfinance institutions and microentrepreneurs for their achievements in digitalization. The DFIA is a financial inclusion program funded by Citi Foundation, in partnership with the Microfinance Council of the Philippines Inc. and supported by the Bangko ng Sentral ng Pilipinas. Attending the virtual launch of the program are (from left) MCPI chairperson Gilbert Maramba, Citi Philippines chief executive Paul Favila, 1st DFIA MFI winner Rural Bank of Guinobatan president Paulo Honrado, 1st DFIA microentrepreneur digital champion Lorie Jane Almazora, BSP Governor Felipe Medalla and MCPI executive director Allan Sicat.

MOVE IT discloses plan to increase Metro Manila riders to 15,000

By Darwin G. Amojelar

MOVE IT, a homegrown Filipino motorcycle taxi provider, said Tuesday it plans to hire more driver partners in the next two months as part of its aggressive expansion in Metro Manila.

MOVE IT general manager Wayne Jacinto told reporters the company would increase its riders to 15,000 in Metro Manila within the next two months from 6,600 to address the rising demand.

“We are also expanding our operations in Cebu. We currently have a thousand riders and the cap is 3,000. In Cagayan de Oro, we are just awaiting the approval of the local government, hopefully, within next month,” he said.

Jacinto said the company is optimistic about its operations with the launching of its upgraded mobile app. The MOVE IT app sets a new benchmark for motorcycle taxi services, catering to the needs of Filipino commuters like never before.

“We are thrilled to unveil the enhanced MOVE IT app—an expression of our utmost commitment to our kababayans. As we strive to always provide the lowest fares, transparent practices and highest bar of safety, our upgraded app provides a seamless journey that brings our key commitments to life— providing Filipinos with a clean, honest and reliable MC Taxi service they can trust,” Jacitnto said.

“Our enhanced app is a timely re- sponse to the evolving needs of passengers and rider-partners. Through our enhanced app, our rider-partners will benefit from improved efficiency, enabling them to earn more, while our passengers will enjoy a user-friendly and more intuitive interface, ensuring seamless and convenient MC Taxi experiences,” he said. The app, with a focus on reliability and efficiency, guarantees an impressive 99.95-percent uptime—ensuring seamless booking experience especially during peak hours. MOVE IT’s commitment to efficient transportation solutions is aimed at providing uninterrupted service to both passengers and rider-partners.

A GROUP of Filipino entrepreneurs formed a company to harness the country’s vast precious rare earth elements and pave the way for becoming a major supplier of processed metals and critical minerals to advanced economies and industrial nations.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, president and chief executive of Philippine General Minerals Project Inc. said the firm’s vision was to align closely with the government’s program to promote industrialization and capitalize on the nation’s rich mineral reserves.

“The Philippines has vast mineral reserves containing rare earth elements with hidden properties that can make modern technology possible,” he said.

CADPI said it plans to focus on sugar refining operations which are the remaining viable part of the mill’s operations.

CADPI is one of the largest sugar mills in the Philippines with a capacity of 13,000 tons of cane a day.

Following President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s announcement in Davos, Switzerland earlier this year, Parlade said the PGMPI took proactive steps to align its efforts with the government’s program, showcasing its commitment to sustainable development and responsible practices.

He said PGMPI officials met with DBP director Maria Lourdes Arcenas and DBP president and chief executive Michael de Jesus in April 2023. The DBP, through Arcenas, has supported PGMPI since its inception during the Duterte administration and was ready to finance the project until the Covid-19 pandemic happened.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz Gar a eyes the ball as he plays against Italy’s Flavio Cobolli during their men’s singles match on Day 2 of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Suzanne-Lenglen in Paris. AFP