The Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, Inc. (OMECO) has sought the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to further extend its Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) with Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corporation (OMCPC).
On June 11, OMECO finally received a Certificate of Exemption (COE) from the Department of Energy (DOE) on the conduct of Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for the procurement of 29MW EPSA for a cooperation period from June 26, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
For a long-term solution, OMECO is currently conducting its regular Competitive Selection Process for the procurement of 39MW power supply for the mainland of Occidental Mindoro.
The exemption is pursuant to Section 2.2.2 of the Department Circular No. DC2018-02-0003.
With this issuance, OMECO appealed to ERC to consider the urgency of approving the EPSA covering the June 26 to December 31, 2021 period. Pre-hearing meeting was set by ERC with OMECO and OMCPC on Tuesday, June 15, prior to the Commission’s En Banc Meeting on June 17.
The electric cooperative is implementing rotational power interruptions, a maximum of 3 hours per area scheduled, in the province of Occidental Mindoro due to shortage of power supply.
The available capacity of OMECO from its power providers is only 24MW, of which 20MW comes from the Bunker Diesel Power Plant of OMCPC, and 4MW is sourced from the National Power Corporation (NPC).
“During peak hours, when the weather is too hot and humid, demand reaches 27MW. But in cold weather, demand goes down to 23MW,” OMECO Project Supervisor and Acting General Manager Cesar Faeldon said.
To address the supply deficit, last December 4, 2020, OMECO and OMCPC signed a 5MW EPSA where capacity is planned to be installed at Tayamaan, Mamburao. However, application for the approval of the said 5MW with the ERC is still in process.
The available capacity of OMECO from its power providers is only 24MW, of which 20MW comes from the Bunker Diesel Power Plant of OMCPC, and 4MW is sourced from the National Power Corporation (NPC).
For a long-term solution, OMECO is currently conducting its regular Competitive Selection Process for the procurement of 39MW power supply for the mainland of Occidental Mindoro.
The signing of the Power Supply Agreement with the winning bidder is expected on August 19, 2021. The commercial operation is on January 1, 2022.
