Veco, Meco buy P19M in assets from Transco

The National Transmission Commission has struck divestment contracts with the Visayan Electric Company and Mactan Electric Company for its Cebu sub-transmission assets at the Marco Polo Hotel yesterday morning.

Transco president and CEO Allan Ortiz said what is good with these divestment deals is that they are "empowering these distribution utilities", who in turn are expected to "upgrade existing transmission lines so that more people will be served".

This is aside from the fact that service to more consumers will translate to additional income for these utility firms.

The deals yesterday sealed with Meco and Veco were the 28th and 29th divestment contracts, respectively, under the sub-transmission assets divestment program of Transco.

Its divestment contract with Meco, represented by its president Dennis Villareal involves the sale of P11.8-million worth of sub-transmission assets, stretching to 7.95 circuit kilometers of eight sub-transmission lines from Mactan load-end to a certain portion in Mandaue area.

The said sub-transmission lines, each rated at 69 kilovolts, cover 138 structures.

The divested deal with Veco represented by its president, Dennis Garcia, affects the sale of 6.6 circuit kilometers of one sub-transmission line worth P8.1 million.

The sub-transmission asset in Banilad-Mandaue area, rated still at 69 kilovolts, spans 76 structures.

In both contracts, the terms of payment stipulates that the subject distribution utilities shall fully pay Transco within 10 calendar days from the date of approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Ortiz yesterday said that of the 24 contracts endorsed to ERC for approval, only one has so far been approved.

He said what causes the delay in the approval of these contracts is the documentation.

Nevertheless, he said the documentation of 10 contracts has already been completed and that a talk with ERC chairman Rodolfo Albano recently has elicited the latter's pledge to expedite the process.

Meanwhile, Ortiz said he remains to be the head of Transco for as long as no one has been appointed to replace him.

Although Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita admitted to the press having drafted the termination paper of Ortiz for President Gloria Arroyo's approval, he said Ermita has yet to talk to him personally in this regard.

He said Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla was surprised and perceives it as a "bad timing" that the said plan to terminate him from Transco comes at a very crucial period in relation to the commission's implementation of its privatization programs for its assets, in compliance with their mandate as provided in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.

Although there is no confirmed report that a powerful player in the power industry has something to do with his supposed termination, Ortiz said the feedback he got was that he is going to be terminated not because he is lax in the performance of his duties but because "of the nature and the resources of the position".

"It's because they see it as a very resource-rich position. I don't have evidence to say otherwise," he said. - Cristina C. Birondo