Negros Power sets aside P2.1B for modernization as Primelectric-CENECO joint venture grows

Tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.’s Negros Electric and Power Corp., the power distributor in central Negros Occidental, said on Wednesday that it has set aside P2.1 billion for a modernization program as the joint venture firm running the province’s distribution network enters its second year.

Negros Power is a joint venture between Primelectric Holdings Inc. and the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO).

In a news release, Negros Power said it has so far invested more than P1.2 billion in its P2.1-billion modernization program, two years into the CENECO-Primelectric partnership.

To recall, in 2023, Primelectric proposed the partnership with CENECO as the electric cooperative faced financial and operational challenges.

Primelectric eventually acquired a 70% stake in distribution assets valued at more than P2 billion after CENECO member-consumers approved the joint venture through plebiscites.

Negros Power said it has retained and regularized more than 200 former CENECO employees and honored existing collective bargaining agreements, allowing the new operator to retain CENECO’s institutional and local expertise.

The power distributor said its investments are going toward the replacement of deteriorating lines, substation upgrades, modern meters, and projects aimed at improving reliability and reducing system losses.

The power utility serves more than 220,000 active accounts across Bacolod, Bago, Talisay, Silay, Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto.

Negros Power said among its flagship projects is the P79-million Lacson Street Underground Distribution System in Bacolod, which is replacing overhead lines with an underground network along a major city thoroughfare to improve resilience and address the proliferation of wires.

The company is also setting aside P250 million for sitio energization projects covering 232 underserved rural communities.

Negros Power said more than 33% of its power supply comes from indigenous geothermal resources, reinforcing Negros’ position as a major renewable energy hub.

Negros Power president and CEO Roel Castro said its partnership with CENECO brings its longstanding knowledge of the communities and consumers it serves, “while Primelectric Holdings Inc. provides the capital, technology and management capacity needed to undertake major infrastructure upgrades.”

The company added that it has also pursued its modernization program without increasing its basic distribution rates.

The power utility said it has seen improvements in system reliability, including efforts to eliminate insulator failures and reduce feeder losses, as early indicators of the modernization program’s impact.

Currently, Negros Power said that stakeholders of the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (NONECO) have begun exploring a similar joint-venture arrangement as the cooperative contends with persistent reliability concerns in its coverage area.