Photo credit: Ryan Maminta FB page

A Palawan provincial board member has called for the revocation of the power supply agreement of the Siquijor Island Power Corporation (SIPCOR) with the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) for failing to deliver the promised 20-megawatt capacity more than two years after signing the contract, Palawan News reports.

Speaking before the 11th regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Maminta warned that Palawan should not be tied to “a non-performing supplier” for the next 15 years.

SIPCOR, owned by Prime Asset Ventures, Inc. (PAVI) of the Villar group, made national headlines after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) revoked its authority to operate in Siquijor last month. Regulators found the company had been running without a valid certificate of compliance, using unauthorized rental generators, and failing to submit required reports.

“Two years since… what [did] SIPCOR deliver to Palawan? No power, no reliable 20 megawatts capacity, only litigation, delay and broken trust,” Maminta said.

 Maminta recalled that PALECO had been forced into the contract through arbitration in 2022, which imposed PHP 21.1 million in damages. The agreement was finalized in August 2022, with a PSA signed in January 2023. But since then, PALECO has had to rely on costly emergency power supply agreements (EPSAs), leaving Palawan with the country’s highest power rates — reportedly between PHP 17 and PHP 19 per kilowatt-hour.

“The lesson from Siquijor is clear. SIPCOR is not capable of sustaining even basic service, much less meeting the critical demands of the province of Palawan,” Maminta said, citing 528 incidents of rotating brownouts and 31 power outages lasting up to 11 hours each. “SIPCOR has given us litigation, not electricity. Excuses, not power. Empty promises, not progress.”

Board Member Ariston Arzaga also pressed regulators on whether Palawan consumers could be reimbursed for the higher costs they shouldered during EPSAs. Maminta responded that only the ERC can decide, noting that the issue has yet to be clarified.

The provincial board has referred the matter to its Committee on Energy, which will summon SIPCOR, PALECO, and national regulators. For now, Palawan households and businesses continue to grapple with frequent outages and soaring electricity bills, with no sign yet of the promised 20MW supply.

What’s your take? Should regulators step in decisively on SIPCOR’s Palawan contract — or give the company more time to deliver? Join the discussion.

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