THE growth in MORE Electric and Power Corp.’s (MORE Power) customer base has contributed an average of P4.99 billion annually to Iloilo City’s economy, as assessed by the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P).
“On average, what is injected in the economy of Iloilo is close to P5 billion or almost 4% of the economy of the city of Iloilo. That’s quite significant,” UA&P President Winston Conrad B. Padojinog said, citing his study during a business summit in Iloilo City on Thursday.
He highlighted the substantial impact of MORE Power’s strategic investments and operational improvements on the local economy.
The initiatives, including equipment upgrades and system rehabilitation, are said to have significantly improved the quality of power distribution services, driving economic growth in Iloilo City.
Mr. Padojinog attributed the 3.8% gross city domestic product to MORE Power being a reliable electricity service provider, creating an average of 2,200 jobs every year, which is said to have generated a total of P1.75 billion worth of additional income for Iloilo City’s households from 2020 to 2022.
“On average, annually it creates 2,200 jobs,” he said. “Just imagine if it shuts down thus a lot of jobs will be lost.”
MORE Power created a total of 6,693 jobs directly and indirectly from 2020 to 2022, he said.
The reduction in system losses has directly benefited consumers, providing them with extra income, Mr. Padojinog said. As a result, consumers injected about P1.01 million into the economy through additional consumption spending in 2022.
Due to the enhancements, more customers subscribed to MORE Power’s services, leading to an increase in captured customer connection, which was 90,692 in 2022, higher than the 84,735 recorded in 2021.
“You could see that a reliable utility infrastructure, a reliable infrastructure provider, will have reverberating effects on an economy. So the opposite can be true. If you have an unreliable service provider, it will lead to rent-seeking behavior,” Mr. Padojinog said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
