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VISAYAN Electric Co. Inc. (Veco), the country’s
second-largest power distributor acquired P172 million
worth of subtransmission assets from the National
Transmission Corp. (Transco) as part of the
government-owned company’s divestment program.
Veco
president Dennis Garcia and Transco president Arthur
Aguilar signed the Deed of Absolute Sale at the Transco
headquarters on June 24.
The
subtransmission assets covered in the contract involved
5.93 circuit kilometers, 33 line structures and two
100-MVA transformers in northern metro Cebu and the
mountain areas of Cebu City.
The
contract for the purchase was signed by Veco and Transco
in January 2005, with the application for approval of
the contract submitted to the Energy Regulatory
Commission shortly after.
The
ERC approved the application in April 2008. The sale is
one of the biggest cash deals since Transco’s
subtransmission asset-divestment program started in
2004, Aguilar said.
The
Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) mandates the
divestment of subtransmission assets to qualified
distribution utilities.
In a
statement during the signing, Garcia expressed full
support for Transco’s subtransmission asset-divestment
program.
“Veco
is in full support of this effort and is committed to
purchase the other subtransmission assets in its
franchise area,” Garcia said.
“Veco
looks forward [to] a continued partnership with Transco
in facing the new challenges in the power industry and
to provide better and more affordable service to our
customers.”
Veco
serves more than 280,000 customers in the cities of
Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay and Naga, and the towns of
Consolacion, Liloan and San Fernando in Cebu. It is
owned and managed by the Garcia and Aboitiz families of
Cebu. -- W. Rodolfo III |
