Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is now moving to supply reliable power to Bohol in the span of 10 years starting in 2024, according to information released by the company to The Bohol Tribune.
The realization of the power supply service of the EDC is the product of the consultations made during the time of then Gov. Edgar Chatto who created the Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group (BEDAG).
Two of EDC’s officials, Frances Ariola, Corporate Communications Expert and Boholano Gideon Adriel Butalid head of Market Planning and Contracts met with Bohol reporters regarding the company’s plans of supplying reliable power to the province.
Butalid said that EDC won the joint competitive selection process (CSP) conducted by the One Bohol Power (1BP) consortium composed of the distribution utilities (DU): Bohol Electric Cooperative 1 and 2 and Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI), to supply the baseload electricity coming from a renewable energy, which is geothermal energy, sourced primarily from the Unified Geothermal Power Plant in Leyte.
The EDC shall also supply energy to Bohol via a backup power through a diesel-power plant in barangay Imelda, Ubay in case the grid gets cut off leaving Bohol without electricity just like what happened in the aftermath of typhoon Odette in Dec. 2021.
Among all the bidders, 1BP declared that only EDC met the requirements, Butalid said.
He added that in the first year, EDC will supply 1BP with 50 megawatts (MW) of power from Leyte.
The power supplied by the EDC will gradually increase each year until it reaches 83 MW, Butalid explained.
Once completed, the diesel power plant will provide backup power at a fixed cost of P4.60 per kilowatt hour on the first year of operation and the cost will be adjusted in the succeeding years based on inflation, Butalid told reporters.
He clarified that the power plant in Ubay will only be used if the power coming from Leyte and Cebu is unavailable due to damage or problem on the grid.
Moreover, Butalid said that the EDC is now in the process of completing the permits and getting regulatory approval with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in terms of putting up of the power plant in Imelda, Ubay.
THE BEDAG STORY
The entry of the EDC was made possible through the budding process conducted by the 1BP.
The 1BP is an offshoot of the discussions within the l BEDAG, which was created during the incumbency of then Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto.
The BEDAG was created to find solutions to the power situation in Bohol which was plunged into darkness for several weeks after the power coming from Leyte was affected due to supertyphoon Yolanda.
Chatto was the one who convened the DUs, private sector, and government representatives to find solutions to the power problems of Bohol, which gave rise to 1 BP.
Thus the solutions that are being implemented now are based on the actions made by Chatto during his time as governor of Bohol, reports add.
The BEDAG is a group composed of representatives from the local government units (LGU), national government agencies (NGA), DU, transmission companies, private sector, and civil society organizations (CSO).
The BEDAG’s main task is to create short, medium and long-term plans to address the power situation in Bohol, which is reliant on power imported from other provinces.
The future power plant is slated to be operational by next year according to the EDC executives.