ILECO III’s P208-M interconnection project to benefit 3K families in island villages

The Iloilo Electric Cooperative (ILECO III) has proposed an interconnection project that aims to provide reliable power to island barangays in the Fifth District of the province.

Lawyer James Balsomo II, ILECO III general manager, said the P208-million project is expected to benefit at least 3,000 families.

Specifically, the project will connect the islands of Manlot, Calagna-an and Sicogon in the town of Carles directly to the main grid via a 4.5-kilometer submarine cable.

The proposal was already presented by Congressman Raul “Boboy” Tupas to Commissioner Alexis Lumbatan, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) acting chairperson.

Tupas, along with Balsomo and Carles Mayor Siegfredo Betita, recently met with Lumbatan at the Batasan Hills in Quezon City to further discuss the proposal.

Balsomo said the proposed project is in line with ILECO III’s effort to meet its full electrification target.

The power distributor is eyeing to get funding for the project either through the support of Congress or the ERC-approved CAPEX program, according to Balsomo.

“The implementation shall commence immediately upon approval of the funding allocation and hopefully to be finished within a year and subsequently energized,” he said.

This year, ILECO III is implementing a P40-million project, which will benefit about 1,400 households in Barangays Bagongon, Maliogliog and Dungon in Concepcion and Barangays Punta Buri and Tagubanhan in Ajuy.