Friday Mar, 29 2024 03:20:21 AM

MAGELCO moving forward amid man-made, natural calamities, pandemic

BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 16:15 PM Wed Jun 30, 2021
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Press Release
MAGELCO General Manager Ashary Maongco in action.

DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Maguindanao – The Maguindanao Electric Cooperative (MAGELCO) has been facing unprecedented challenges never been felt by other electric cooperatives in the country.

With Maguindanao still rising from the effects of decades of armed conflict that displaced thousands of Maguindanaons, the natural calamities that also uprooted many locals, the reluctance of many Member Consumers (MCs) to religiously pay electric bills and the pandemic, can MAGELCO still survive and continue to exist as power provider for Maguindanao, the seat of the arising Bangsamoro government?

“Yes, definitely yes,” Electrical Engineer Ashary Maongco, MAGELCO general manager, said with increased optimism.

RESTRUCTURING

What he has in mind is to ask PSALM for the condonation of P1 billion “bad debt” (MCs did not pay due to armed conflict and natural calamities affecting Maguindano for years) as well as the condonation of the interest incurred and the application of the payment shall be on the principal bill only.

“The remaining P600 million to be paid in 15 years by MAGELCO,” he said of the proposed restructuring.

His latest strategy is to solicit the support of all local government units in Maguindanao’s 36 towns by passing a resolution asking PSALM to provide MAGELCO with 25 megawatt in order to sustain the power demand of the MCs of MAGELCO who are almost residential consumers.

No description available.

MAGELCO have the privilege to apply for that because the province of Maguindanao is the host community of NPC-PSALM being the capital province of the Bangsamoro Region.  To have this continuously, MAGELCO member consumers will continue to enjoy preferential rate or the cheapest in the entire country.

Also Maongco sought the help of LGUs to devise strategies that will convince their constituents to religiously pay their obligations to MAGELCO “or power outage” will be implemented, one thing that “Local Chief Executives (LCEs) would surely not allow, so please help your cooperative.”

“With the LGU support, I am sure collection will improve and we can pay religiously our obligations with PSALM and NGCP,” he said.

The other strategy is for MAGELCO to cut power by transformers if 50 percent of those tapped into it failed to pay power bills.

“These are the least things a GM can do to its MCs but have to be done to let MAGELCO move forward and implement rehabilitation, reforms, and make the cooperative prime mover of the economic development of the region,” said Maongco, former board member of Philippine National Oil Company-Renewables Corporation or PNOC-RC.

BUILDING SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING

The challenges appeared to be insurmountable but MAGELCO general manager, a sultan from Lanao del Sur, has transformed a bankrupt electric cooperative into what it is today, highly competitive utility serving the regional seat of the Bangsamoro Region.

“Building something out of nothing” as far as running the affairs of MAGELCO, was Engr. Maongco’ battle cry “because nobody is helping and if I will not take the cudgels, who will?”

Brilliance is the key. He has been in the thick of self-funded rehabilitation, moving the cooperative against odds – debts, armed conflict, natural calamities, pandemic and MCs culture of not paying electric bills religiously.

One may ask can Engr. Maongco do that?

Let us see what transpired in MAGELCO over the past six years under his watch.

May be an image of outdoors and text that says 'ELECTRIFICATION'

TURNAROUND

When Maongco became MAGELCO general manager in 2015, the electric cooperative was down due to corruption and mismanagement.

The PSALM was only giving MAGELCO 2.75 MW monthly although its power requirement then was 7 MW.

“Because of that there was a 8-12 hours daily power brownout,” he recalled. “The system here was dilapidated, collection was manual, no new transformers, no new sub stations, etc.”

“When I came in I started from scratch, fixing and removing blackout and still the 7 MW requirement were met starting Jan 2015 until now because I negotiated with PSALM well,” he said of the turnaround.

Since then, he started a very ambitious rehabilitation program that many thought he would not achieve.

From 7MW consumption of Maguindanao, Maongco said it improved to 22MW monthly consumption.

Among the changes that he implemented were the institutionalization of data of all member consumers, organized and improved the collection by employing MLhuilier as its payment center on top of the sub-offices in various areas of the province.

“Systems losses were reduced from 40 percent, before I came, to a single digit of 9 percent today,” said Maongco, former manager of National Power Corporation-Sales and Services.

“I tell you, Magelco has 48,000 member consumers now but only 50 plus percent of that are religiously paying, others do not due to hostilities, calamities, and now the pandemic,” stressed the former Principal Engineer B (Safety, Health and Environment), AGUS 1 and 2 Hydroelectric Power Plant Complex, NPC.

“Our debt to NGCP amounting to P135 million was settled and we are regularly paying them (NGCP) but our debt to PSALM rose from P1 billion to P2.1 billion due to interest and due to some MCs not paying their obligation with the EC,” said Maongco, a candidate for Fellow, Institute of Corporate Directors or FICD.

Since he assumed office, Maongco said, MAGELCO has a P1 billion receivables from its member consumers (MCs), many of whom were unable to pay due to displacement brought about by natural (floods) and man-made (war) calamities, not to include the culture of simply not paying.

That P1 billion has ballooned into P1.5 billion and with the interest and surcharges included it could reach to as high as P2.3 billion.

Despite huge problems and challenges, Maongco was not giving up and that determination led to the classification of MAGELCO from Class D to Class A cooperative by NEA in 2018

May be an image of Ashary Maongco, standing and outdoors

MOVING ON DESPITE SOME MCs NON PAYMENT

He said MAGELCO has no resources, some of our MCs are not yet religiously paying but in due time they will as they understand the electricity business.

Maongco said: “I can’t blame them because our region is a product of armed conflict since in the early seventies but I believed that one day we will be one of the most develop electric cooperative in a developing BARMM region.”

“This is why MAGELCO in my stewardship, through grit and determination we will set everything well on a timeline —- December 2021 or the least is December 2022.”

But how could you survive the stress, the day to day operations and various problems, challenges that could have crippled MAGELCO?  His answer: “Complete belief to the Almighty Allah SWT.”

An efficient manager uses limited resources to get the job done, Maongco remained optimistic against all odds.

In 2019, Maongco thought of implementing “Black Monday,” a program designed to enforce power interruption to force MCs to pay.  That led to an improved collections but, unfortunately, disallowed by the pandemic.

“Amidst the economic crisis brought about by the COVID 19 pandemic that made our collections efficiency so low, our collection campaign continues, not only to inform them of possible disconnection but to educate them,” Maongco said.

“Our collection efficiency is 57 percent plus, a leap from 20 percent in the past.  Our target is at 90 percent to make the coop liquid. The only challenge now is collection as system losses went down, institutionalized member consumers and technical operations are vastly improving,” he said, adding that the cooperative is facing a “culture” of non-payment of MCs.

Despite that Maongco remained optimistic as ever.

HIGHLY OPTIMISTIC GM

“This crisis will not affect our program for the welfare of the MCs of MAGELCO,” he added. “Inshaallah, we can overcome all the obstacles. We can do it.”

As he said against all odds, Magelco must continue to soar and is soaring high.

May be an image of outdoors and text that says 'MAGELCO LECTRIFICATION MAGELCO SZU'

POWER SUPER HIGHWAYS

New substations were put up. First is the 10MVA Rajah Sirungan Kudarat sub-station in Ampatuan serving Sultan sa Barongis, Datu Abdullah Sangki, Mamasapano, Shariff Aguak.  Another is the 10MVA Sultan Kudarat sub-station in Simuay serving the towns of Sultan Kudarat, Sultan Mastura, Parang, Matanog, Buldon, Barira. The third is the 5MVA substation that is now serving Upi county, DAtu Blah Sinsuat and Upper Datu Odin Sinsuat towns.

Accompanying these new substations was the replacement of old transmission/distribution lines and removal of old wooden posts and replace it with concrete poles.

“These poles were built in 1970s and it was only now that these were rehabilitated,” he said.

Recently, MAGELCO completed the establishment of “Power Super Highway” from Barangay Capiton, DOS sub-station to Nuro, Upi, Maguindanao and the energization of 21 kilometers “Power Super Highway” from Pigcalagan, Sultan Kudarat to Polloc Port in Parang via Sultan Mastura and Barangay Sarmiento.

To summarize his accomplishments:

  • He revitalized MAGELCO from the brink of bankruptcy to a promising electric distribution utility capable of meeting the demands of the electric power industry.
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  • Under his leadership, the Board of Administrators of the National Electrification Administration classified MAGELCO from an ailing or Class D electric coop in 2014 to Class A electric coop in 2018. 
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  • Under his watch, MAGELCO is the only coop in BARMM that is classified as Class A EC.
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  • Stabilized the coop from 8 to 12 hours rotational power curtailment a month after his assumption and abled to sign a power supply contract with the power supplier from 1.7MW to 10MW and upward.
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  • He displayed his innovative style of leadership which led to the improvement in the overall operations of the coop—systems losses of 48% down to 11.8%; computerized billing systems and created the data center that reached the member consumers from 18,000 to 48,000 plus.
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  • Initiated sound financial and materials management  which sustained the self-funded rehabilitation of the coop, such as: 30 circuit kilometers, 3 phase 13.2 KV distribution lines from Parang in Maguindanao to Kapatagan in Lanao del Sur; 10 CKMs 13.2 Pollok Port; 25 CKMs Datu Saudi to DAS; 7 CKMs Datu Saudi to Talayan; 10 MVA; 69/13.2 KV Rajah SilunganKudarat Power Substation in Ampatuan; 10 MVA; 69/13.2 KV Sultan Kudarat Power Substation in Sultan Kudarat and the ongoing Php362M ongoing construction of new 13.2 KV distribution lines and rehabilitation of lateral lines.
  • He was able to energized 442 sitios and 11 barangays that benefited 8,718 families through the Sitio Electrification Program.

 

With his vast and awesome experiences in the electric and energy sector, Engr. Maongco never run out of ideas that make MAGELCO survive amidst very challenging environment in the province.

Recently, Maongco shared to all power consumers in MAGELCO and all the stakeholders “what is electricity business” and how can MAGELCO survive in the forthcoming WESM or Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

“Some of our MCs thought that electricity is a dole out or subsidy from the government. The answer is a big NO,” he said. 

“MAGELCO is purchasing the energy to power our households from NPC, the generation company of PSALM and then transmitted to our substations by NGCP and finally distributed to every household by MAGELCO through its distribution lines and secondary transformers.

“We are obliged to pay PSALM and NGCP monthly. The distribution cost is for the operations, maintenance and salaries of employees. If our MCs will not pay, how we can buy energy to power our households and how we can construct new lines and substation. And finally, how we can operate?”

In the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the law that created the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the regional government may extend support to electric cooperatives in the region.

Looking back, Maongco posted in his FB page.

“In 1993, my boss the former president of the big NPC Dr FLV told me ‘managing an electric cooperative is the hardest & very hard work of a CEO or a GM’. Precisely it was correct, much more in the area where culture and socio-environment, peace and order condition are always a threat. Our businesses: buying power from the generation company-PSALM NPC and then transmitted by NGCP to our substations and sell it to our MCs; collections of payment from MCs and then finally paying the power supplier and transmission provider. Along the line is the rate, system losses and operational expenses—- very hard. If NO payment by the MCs, the company will collapse, much more if it is a residential area.

“I am 58 and the retirement age of a GM is 60 but still I felt young with my daily routine serving the people of Maguindanao. Year 2021, we set the goals to make MAGELCO as prime mover of the economic development of the region—- construction of new backbone distribution lines; additional 10 + 5 MVA Substations; maintaining cheap electricity cost and a single digit system losses; competitive salary of employees; entered into a restructuring agreement of the outstanding debt; current to PSALM and NGCP; renew CSEE contract of 25MW from 10MW. 

No photo description available.

 

 

 

 

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