The National Electrification Administration (NEA) entered into a partnership with the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) to improve the electrical infrastructure of Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO).
NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MIC President and CEO Rafael Consing, Jr. and PALECO General Manager Engr. Rez Contrivida in a ceremony held Thursday, 23 May 2024, at the NEA office in Quezon City.
A representative for Palawan 2nd District Rep. Jose Alvarez and National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) President Engr. Fortunato Leynes also signed the document as witnesses.
This latest collaboration seeks to stabilize power supply in Palawan to keep attracting businesses and industry in the province for its economic growth. The parties agree to mutually provide technical assistance and share relevant data to achieve this goal.
Under the six-page accord, the MIC intends to conduct studies to assess the present electrical system of Palawan and determine ways to improve it. It has the discretion to finance its upgrades, subject to the availability of funding and consistent with its investment strategy and risk management frameworks.
PALECO, on the other hand, is bound to extend all kinds of assistance relative to the implementation of the MOU. It is expected to provide technical and operational expertise, including access to relevant data and information, to its collaborators.
The agreement adheres to the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ governance agenda of the Marcos administration that seeks to invest the Philippines’ first sovereign wealth fund into key investments—such as energy development—to sustain the positive trajectory of the country’s economy.
Administrator Almeda initiated the partnership to accelerate the 100 percent total electrification thrust of the NEA, but more importantly to secure supply of electricity. Palawan has struggled with rotational brownouts due to technical issues and power supply deficiency for years, which the state-owned corporation has been trying to address.
Last April, the NEA forged a similar arrangement with the local governments and electric cooperatives of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro. ###
