Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is pushing for the implementation of the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) to address the country’s expected power supply shortage next year. The ILP, the PCCI said, entails the least cost and may be done without need for special law. “PCCI is of the view that the least-cost and most workable palliative measure is the full and active promotion of the ILP,” the business group said in a statement yesterday. The ILP is a voluntary program subject to compensation of participants. Under the ILP, qualified businesses would be compensated if they use their own generating facilities or sets during peak hours. By using their own generating facilities, distribution utilities (DU) such as the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) could reduce electricity supplied to participating businesses and serve other customers. The PCCI said there are over 2,000 megawatts (MW) of stand-by generators registered with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 To be safe and assured, the group said only about 600 MW is needed to adequately respond to a 300-MW to-400 MW or more supply shortfall. By using 400 MW for five hours a day using fuel costing P45 per liter, the PCCI estimates the resulting power cost increase is only in the vicinity of P0.9 per kilowatt hour for the month if such is implemented. “There may be no need for subsidy for this and is a win-win situation for the ILP participants Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The tandem of infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and conglomerate Ayala Corp. expects to ink next month the concession agreement for the P65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension project. John Eric Francia, managing director of Ayala Corp., said the corresponding down payment would be made during the signing of the concession agreement. “Payment is expected to be made by concession agreement signing, which will potentially happen next month or so,” Francia said in a text message. The winning bidder is required to make a down payment of 10 percent of its P9.35 billion premium bid for the PPP project while the remaining 90 percent would be paid during the concession period of 32 years. Last Sept. 12, the DOTC awarded the LRT-1 extension project to the Light Rail Manila Consortium. The lead member of the group is MPIC Light Rail Corp. with 55 percent while other members include Ayala’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. with 35 percent and Macquaire Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd. with 10 percent. The DOTC gave the consortium 20 days to comply with the post award requirement. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya earlier said the Light Rail Manila Consortium could take over the operations of LRT-1 and begin construction works by October next year or within a maximum of one year from the signing of the concession agreement. Abaya said the PPP project should be fully operational within 54 months or Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved Puregold owner Lucio Co’s entry into the Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom). In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PBCom said the BSP approved last week P.G. Holdings Inc.’s subscription to 181.08 million newly issued common shares of the commercial bank at P33 apiece. The subscription enables Co to gain a 37.7 percent interest in PBCom, making him the bank’s single biggest shareholder.  “PBCom and P. G. Holdings Inc. will now proceed to execute the necessary agreements for this subscription,” the disclosure said. The share sale came following PBCom’s announcement in June that it is planning to raise capital through a stock rights offer, the issuance of capital instruments, and through a private placement. PBCom saw its net income decline by 45 percent to P190.43 million in the first half due to the absence of trading gains, among others. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The bank said it is fasttracking its expansion program this year through the addition of eight new branches to its existing 72. At the same time, PBCom said it wants to operate a total of 10 other banking offices (OBOs) and 200 automated teller machines by year-end. The bank has also acquired Laguna-based Rural Bank of Nagcarlan, Inc. and 90 percent of Banco Dipolog, Inc. whose branches are located in Mindanao and Visayas. The purchases were meant to expand the bank’s market reach in the countryside and increase lending to the Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is expected to sign and implement next month the revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Small Scale Mining Act of 1991 which would enable the department to formalize the operations of small scale miners. Mines and Geosciences Bureau Leo Jasareno said the DENR, with the help of the bureau, is now putting the “finishing touches” on the revised IRR. “We would only be able to implement reforms once the guidelines are in place, Jasareno told reporters on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Mining Philippines 2014 Conference and Exhibition. The revised IRR aims to level the playing field in the local extractive industry by giving small- scale miners access to sites that were only previously opened to large-scale mining operations if they can conform to stricter regulations imposed by the government. This is because indiscriminate small-scale mining activities cause damage to the environment and deprive the government of revenues from operations. Among the salient features of the revised IRR is the provision for the declaration of more areas as Minahang Bayan, or concession areas where small-scale mining activities would be restricted. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Small miners can thus organize themselves into cooperatives and apply for the establishment of new Minahang Bayan sites. The applications would be reviewed by the existing provincial mining regulatory board and would be submitted to the office of the DENR Secretary for approval. In the past, permits for Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) is introducing ways to allow the public to calculate their appliances’ monthly consumption and forecast possible savings. The move is part of efforts to promote practical means to encourage energy efficiency practices in the country. In line with this, the DOE is already spearheading the introduction of inter-active websites that can inform and create awareness to consumers regarding energy efficiency. The wattmatters.org.ph site, for instance, encourages web visitors to calculate as well as simulate the monthly consumption, savings and projected energy efficiency of their desired appliances. Similarly, kuryente.org.ph acts as a reference for consumers to be informed of the present electricity prices in their areas and the contents of their electricity bills. Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said since the website launch, consumers are becoming more aware of energy consumption and energy efficiency. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Transparency in the sector is a good model to create awareness and sound partnerships with our consumers, They can be part of the solution of reducing our power consumptions, thus promoting efficiency and saving money as well,” he said. The DOE’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) has been robust in promoting energy efficiency through its Information, Education and Communication Campaigns (IEC). Majority of these campaigns are hosted by electric cooperatives with their member-consumers as audience, the DOE said. As part of these campaigns, they presented the energy efficiency ratio (EER) for air-conditioners where a higher EER has a more efficient Read More …