Aboitiz Power still keen on Davao utility
Kuala Lumpur — The electricity distribution unit of Aboitiz Power Corp. is still interested in controlling the operations of the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco), with an official saying almost P1 billion may be needed to acquire its assets.
“It’s no secret that we’ve been approached by a coop[erative] in Davao, Nordeco,” AboitizPower Distribution Utilities senior vice president and chief operating officer Anton Perdices told reporters on the sidelines of the Enlit Asia 2024 energy conference held in the Malaysian capital earlier this week.
Perdices said the group was “willing to offer” as AboitizPower has been wanting to expand its coverage in the Davao region.
“As a consumer, it’s hard to swallow that you are here under Nordeco and across the street is Davao Light. These guys are getting power 24 hours a day at a cheaper price, and why can’t we?” he said.
Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Co. delivers electricity to Davao City and some parts of Davao del Norte. Aside from Davao Light, the energy giant also has Visayan Electric distributing supply in Cebu City and neighboring areas.
For the purchase of Nordeco’s asset alone, Perdices said the group has to shell out “between P700 million to a billion.”
“Then we would still need to do a technical due diligence to see what it could take to raise the standards to our level,” he said, referring to an assessment of the distribution transformers, lines and meters.
“So we still have to look at that,” the COO added.
However, Perdices said realizing this plan may take some time as it still needs to hurdle “a lot of political involvement,” including approvals from President Marcos and lawmakers.
In 2022, Mr. Marcos vetoed a measure that sought to expand Davao Light’s franchise area because such an exercise was susceptible to “legal and/or constitutional challenge due to the apparent overlap and possible infringement into the subsisting franchise, permits, and contracts previously granted to” Nordeco.
