Roel Castro, MORE Power Are Industry Exemplars

by Louis Biraogo '79

“Castro brought MORE Power to its current status as a reliable and consumer friendly power supply distributor, a viable private enterprise, and an exemplar of corporate citizenship.”

There are several accomplished Filipino business leaders who are unheralded in the media. They are not keen on publicity, and they prefer to work without fanfare.

One sterling example of such a business leader is Roel “Weng” Castro, the President and Chief Executive Officer of MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), the reputable power distribution utility owned by billionaire Enrique Razon.

Castro is one of the brilliant minds in the energy sector today, with over 30 years of experience in the industry.

He is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, the Asian Institute of Management, the University of Asia and the Pacific, and the IESE Business School in Madrid, Spain.

The most important aspect of Castro’s success story began sometime in 2018 when, for decades past, Iloilo City’s power supply depended on the Panay Electric Company (PECO), which had been complacent about its legislative franchise.

PECO’s complacency was manifested by its poor service and expensive electricity bills, and the intermittent power outages that harassed residential life and commerce in the city.

Ultimately, Congress had to intervene.

In February 2019, Republic Act 11212 was enacted by Congress and signed by then President Rodrigo Duterte.

This law granted MORE Power a 25-year franchise as Iloilo City’s power distribution utility, thus replacing PECO.

However, it was in February 2020 when MORE Power took on its legislative mandate, after the Supreme Court dismissed with finality the petition of PECO challenging the constitutionality of R.A. 11212.

Since then, there was no stopping Castro from achieving the phenomenal turn-around of the once bleak and miserable power situation in Iloilo City.

Within two years of operations, MORE Power fulfilled its promise to reduce, if not eliminate, the perennial, unscheduled and surprise power outages which Iloilo City suffered in earlier decades.

Today, those unwanted outages are nightmares of the past.

Outside of natural disasters, power outages are scheduled only for the periodic maintenance of the distribution system.

Likewise, MORE Power was able to keep its word that the cost of electricity in Iloilo City will be substantially reduced.

Under Castro’s management, the cost of electricity in Iloilo City went a low P7 per kilowatt hour, a lot cheaper than the original P13.

Thus, from bearing up with expensive electricity costs under PECO, the people of Iloilo City now enjoy very affordable electricity through MORE Power.

There are more plans on the drawing board of MORE Power, all designed to keep its power distribution system constantly dependable, in anticipation of an inevitable increase in the demand for electricity in the future.

It is no wonder then that Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has repeatedly commended MORE Power for its role in the city’s progress.

How was Castro able to achieve all that for MORE Power?

Under Castro’s management, MORE Power embarked on a five-year modernization program costing about P1.9-billion.

The modernization program consisted of the rehabilitation and addition of substations, and the replacement of aging poles, transformers and electric meters, among others, throughout Iloilo City.

Included in the program was the installation of automatic circuit reclosers at strategic points in the power distribution system in order to stabilize the supply of electricity in the city.

In addition, MORE Power built a switching station in La Paz, Iloilo City to connect the city’s power distribution grid directly to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

This reduces, if not prevents, unscheduled power outages in the city.

Complementing the modernization program was the hiring of skilled workers appropriate for the power industry, and training them in their respective responsibilities.

Efficiency remains the cornerstone of their continuing training.

Under Castro’s modernization program, MORE Power was able to finally solve the problem of unscheduled power outages in Iloilo City.

To keep electricity affordable, Castro strictly enforced the anti-electricity pilferage law, which imposes fines or imprisonment on violators.

Because the cost of pilfered electricity is passed on to the consumers as part of “systems loss,” reducing electricity pilferage translates to lower electricity bills.

With Castro running MORE Power, the cost of systems loss added to electricity bills shrunk from 28 percent under PECO to just 5.5 percent under MORE Power.

All that notwithstanding, MORE Power remains a financially viable enterprise.

Recently, Castro announced that, under the law, consumers who have paid their electricity bills on time for the past three years are entitled to a refund of their billing deposits.

That move, unprecedented in the industry, underscores that MORE Power cares for its customers.

Castro brought MORE Power to its current status as a reliable and consumer friendly power supply distributor, a viable private enterprise, and an exemplar of corporate citizenship.

this article appeared in the Opinion section of The Manila Standard on 6/30/23 and is being reprinted with the permission of Louis Biraogo '79