MORE Electric and Power Corporation President and CEO Roel Z. Castro, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Tribune on Monday shared milestones achieved so far under the power generation company’s five-year development roadmap.

Castro reported that MORE Power has reduced system loss to around 4.7 percent — an improvement of 24 percent since taking over Iloilo City’s power distribution in 2020.

“New technologies, new facilities, and training provided our people, were crucial factors in our making an improvement of over 90 percent,” Castro said.

He recalled that under the city’s previous electricity provider, customers often endured frequent blackouts, a problem that has largely disappeared under MORE Power’s management.

“The frequency of their outage was also getting bad. So they felt that the electric cooperative was no longer doing a service, a good service for the city,” he explained.

“I mean, instead of helping the city bring in investments, what's happening is that, well, because the electric service is not good, it was turning off investors,” he explained.

Customer growth

Castro pointed to customer growth as another indicator of progress, noting that Iloilo City proper has seen an increase from about 62,000 customers in 2020 to 105,000 in 2025.

He also cited expansion plans in Bohol and the Negros region, as well as those covering the 2nd and 4th districts customer growth as another indicator of progress, noting that Iloilo City proper has seen an increase from about 62,000 customers in 2020 to 105,000 in 2025.

He also cited expansion plans in Bohol and the Negros region, as well as those covering the 2nd and 4th districts of Iloilo province pending approval of MORE’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for those areas.

Republic Act 11918 has already extended MORE Power’s franchise to cover 15 municipalities and one component city in the province.

RE supply agreements

To support long-term sustainability, MORE Power has entered renewable energy supply agreements to diversify its portfolio and comply with Renewable Portfolio Standards.

These initiatives, alongside a proposed P4-billion investment in Central Negros Electric Cooperative through affiliate Primelectric Holdings, underscore the company’s role in modernizing distribution networks and driving economic growth in Western Visayas.

Castro emphasized that renewable energy is already a significant part of the company’s mix.

40 percent renewables

“From our supply side, that's over 40 percent renewables,” he said, noting that the bulk comes from geothermal sources, with solar and wind also contributing.