Bantayan in northern Cebu is one of the emerging tourist destinations in the country.
Divided into three municipalities which are Bantayan, Madridejos, and Sta. Fe, this island is home to some of the best accommodations in the province.
Residents and guests in Bantayan will experience a significant reduction in power outages as their sole distribution utility is getting a much-needed 3 megawatts (MW) of emergency supply from Vivant subsidiary Isla Norte Energy Corporation (INEC).
INEC, a partnership of Vivant Energy Corporation and Gigawatt Power Inc., has brought generators to Bantayan to provide power to Bantayan Electric Cooperative (BANELCO) during a shortfall in generation on the part of Banelco’s current power provider.
Banelco General Manager Lee Rivera said the occurrence of almost daily outages that the electric coop’s member-consumers have had to endure is tantamount to an emergency situation that needed to be addressed.
Banelco sought for an exemption from the conduct of a competitive selection process (CSP) for the procurement of the 3MW emergency power supply, which was approved by the Department of Energy (DOE).
“The welfare and comfort of Banelco member-consumer-owners have been and will always be our utmost priority. The past several months had been a nightmare and an unfortunate experience that we wish will not happen again,” Rivera said.
“The 3 MW interim or emergency power supply will address the power supply shortage of our current power provider. We hope it will also allow them to properly fix and maintain their generating units, hopefully without resorting power curtailment,” he said.
The generators brought in by INEC provides nearly half of the island’s total demand.
“It’s not the ultimate solution but it will greatly improve the power supply situation in Bantayan Island,” Rivera said.
