Aboitiz unit allots initial P1B for Davao utility
Davao City—Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Co. is allotting P1 billion to acquire the energy assets of Northern Davao Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Nordeco) following the government’s green light to take over the latter’s franchise area.
Talking to reporters, Davao Light president and chief operating officer Enriczar Tia said the company had initially offered Nordeco P1 billion to secure its existing network.
The figure remains up for negotiation with Nordeco, he noted.
“Although right now, we still need to gather all the data on their assets. It’s just that there’s still no transition period yet,” Tia said.
The company executive said that Davao Light would also invest to upgrade Nordeco’s network. The timeline and the capital, however, are yet to be determined since the firm is still assessing the condition of the assets.
Currently, Davao Light delivers power to Davao City, Panabo City as well as the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte.
It ended August with more than 500,000 customers, making it the third largest power distributor in the Philippines.
Davao Light will soon cover Nordeco’s operations, including Tagum City, the Island Garden City of Samal and several municipalities in Davao del Norte and Davao.
The transition period will take two years.
The top official, however, said that Nordeco seeks to challenge the decision before the Supreme Court.
Tia said Davao Light had already approached Nordeco for the establishment of a joint transition committee, but the latter was “kind of resistive.”
But once Davao Light enters those areas currently being served by Nordeco, Tia was confident that consumers would “automatically feel the lower rates.”
As of July, Davao Light charged P9.20 per kilowatt hour. Nordeco rates were 35 percent more expensive, Tia claimed.
Tia also said that Nordeco’s customers were experiencing “very frequent” power interruptions.
