Electric co-op offers to build Boracay power line

The Aklan Electric Cooperative (Akelco) has proposed to undertake the construction of the long-delayed, 69-KV transmission line from Nabas to Caticlan town in an effort to expedite a solution to Boracay island’s chronic power problems.

In a letter to National Power Corp. officer-in-charge Roland Quilala, lawyer Leovigildo Mationg, Akelco general manager, said the upgrading of the current 13.8-KV power line to a more technically appropriate 69-KV line is key to solving the power shortage and erratic voltage on the world-famous resort island.

Resort owners and tourist establishments on the island have been complaining about frequent power interruptions all day and low voltage during peak hours from 5 p.m. to midnight.

Boracay island is fed with power from Napocor’s Panay grid. Napocor’s 69-KV line, however, is currently only until Nabas town.

The planned extension of the 35-kilometer transmission line from Nabas to Caticlan has been in the drawing boards since 1998 in response to the complaints of Boracay consumers.

Hotels, resorts and restaurants have been forced to self-generate electricity even at a cost of P7.50 per kilowatt-hour, using diesel generators which pollute the air and diminish the idyllic tranquility of one of the world’s best white sand beaches.

Napocor has apparently bought about 90 percent of the materials needed for the transmission and has delivered steel poles and conductors to Nabas.

Under Napocor’s plan, however, it appears that it will take until October 2003 to energize the system in Caticlan where it also needs to build a substation.

In its letter, Akelco also offered to assist in finding a site for the substation in Caticlan if Napocor has not found one.

Under its proposal, Akelco is targeting to finish the 69-KV line by October this year in time for the influx of tourists from December to May next year. It intends to use its own personnel and outsource other services that may be needed in the project.