Green Core allocates 40 MW of clean & affordable power to Visayas

Green Core Geothermal, Inc. (GCGI), a subsidiary of geothermal leader Energy
Development Corporation (EDC), will ensure that the provinces of Capiz, Iloilo and Aklan benefit from clean and affordable power for the next 12 years. The contract between GCGI and the Iloilo Electric Cooperative (ILECO 1), Aklan Electric Cooperative (AKELCO) and Capiz Electric Cooperative (CAPELCO) guarantee long-term power supply for both residential and industrial customers of the three cooperatives.

Based on the contracts, GCGI will supply AKELCO with 18 MW for 2010 and 10 MW from 2011 to 2020. AKELCO services 17 municipalities in Aklan and two municipalities in Antique. ILECO 1, on the other hand, is assured of 3 MW from 2010 to 2012 and 18 MW from 2012-2022. ILECO 1’s franchise areas cover 15 municipalities. CAPELCO, meanwhile, will get 12 MW for the next 10 years to energize 17 cities and municipalities in Capiz.

Power will come from the 112.5-MW Tongonan 1 in Leyte and 192.5-MW Palinpinon plants in Negros Oriental which GCGI won in a bidding by PSALM last year.

The officers of the three cooperatives are one in saying that geothermal is the best option for them. “We’re very happy with this deal primarily because of the low rates of geothermal compared with other sources. It’s good that we get 70 percent of our supply from GCGI’s geothermal plants and only 30 percent from more expensive sources. We are able to provide both our residential and industrial customers with clean, stable and affordable power,” CAPELCO general manager Edgar Diaz said.

EDC President and COO Richard Tantoco reiterated that the pricing of indigenous renewable energy resource such as geothermal is not only independent of any indexation to movements in global energy indices but is also VAT zero rated.

Hence, ILECO 1 General Manager Wilfred Billena is confident that the contracts “will also result in lower power rates for us in Iloilo.” AKELCO General Manager Chito Peralta likewise expressed satisfaction with the agreement. “Getting power has always been a challenge for us because as you know, Aklan is located at the tip of the grid. Now Green Core will be able to augment the power supply of the province and encourage more tourists to visit Boracay.”

“We’re very glad to have ILECO 1, CAPELCO and AKELCO as partners in delivering cleanenergy to Iloilo and Aklan. EDC’s long-term contracts with them will support the growth needs of their respective provinces and customers with clean, reliable and affordable power. Since the industry is leaning more towards clean energy, EDC, with its 34-year head start in the geothermal business, is well positioned to address the supply shortage in the Visayas grid,” Tantoco said.

Source: PSE Disclosure Sept 30, 2010

Philippine Internet Metrics

Michael Alan Hamlin, managing director of TeamAsia, wrote in a Manila Bulletin article about Philippine Internet metrics. Highlights:

• The Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia will account for almost 90% of growth in online ad spend in Southeast Asia in the next five years
• The value of online advertising in the Philippines is expected to reach P1 billion this year
• 80% of an estimated population of 98 million – equivalent to some 72 million individuals – use mobile phones.
• The Philippines has the sixth highest number of mobile phone subscribers in Asia Pacific
• Filipinos send two billion SMS messages a day, more than anywhere else in the world
• Mobile telephony has clearly been embraced by economically challenged socioeconomic classes as an affordable and reliable way to interact with family and friends.
• Internet users – estimated at between 24 and 35 million – are disproportionately young, single, and surprisingly, poor.
• over 70% of Philippine Internet users go online at Internet cafés.
• 35% of Filipinos living in Cagayan de Oro accessed the Internet in the past month at the time of the survey.

Full story at Philippine Internet by the Numbers

PLDT Expands Network, Increases Capacity, Enhances resiliency

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) announced completion of another phase of its Digital Fiber Optic Network (DFON) expansion program. PLDT recently activated an additional 320 Gbps across six network loops nationwide to serve the rising demand for bandwidth as more customers increase their usage of broadband Internet and multi-media services. This increased the operating capacity of PLDT's DFON to more than 1,000 Gbps at a total cost of P600 million.

PLDT has also embarked on a P2.6B DFON network fortification program through establishment of loops within the loops to enhance network resiliency to protect the existing businesses of PLDT and to drive new businesses nationwide.

To date, PLDT already completed the third fiber optic cable leg to Baguio while the 1,220 Km third fiber optic cable leg between Lucena and Cebu traversing through Bicol, Masbate, Panay and Negros islands is expected to be completed middle of this year.

PLDT President and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said:
"We are adding capacity to serve the fast growing needs of our customers for bandwidth. We are improving resiliency to ensure uninterrupted service, and adding density so that the network will be able to serve more communities in its footprint. These projects will spur growth in local economies by making these locations more attractive investment areas, especially for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) locators. Moreover, this will expand broadband coverage so that more Filipinos including those in the rural areas can connect to the world through the Internet."

PLDT Customer Service and Marketing Group Head and SVP Eric Alberto noted that the completion of the latest DFON expansion program will strengthen PLDT's leadership in the increasingly competitive broadband market.

Alberto said:
"Our superior backbone network will enable us to offer our customers the best possible user experience of broadband, particularly in such high-bandwidth services such as video and multimedia."

He added that PLDT's fiber optic transport network is augmented by the nationwide terrestial microwave backbone being operated by SMART.

With a total capacity of more than 120Gbps, SMART's microwave network is utilized to reach remote areas -- such as Tawi-twai in the South to Batanes in the North. On the West sode, it reaches Palawan from Batangas in Luzon and from Panay Island in Visayas. Bohol is also reached through multiple routes of SDH radio going to Cebu.

Aside from serving as an aggregate note to carry traffic to the nearest fiber optic node, microwave radios are also used as alternate routes for the crtical circuits passing through the major fiber-optic networks. Major backbone areas with both high-capacity fiber optics and high capacity microwave network covers Regions 1 and 2, Baguio to Bulacan, Bicol Regions, Panay to Negros to Cebu islands, Zamboanga to Ozamis and Cagayan de Oro to Davao up to Gen. Santos City.

These microware networks complement the higher capacity fiber-optic networks and are vital in delivering reliable SMART services across the country.


Source: PLDT Press Release Feb 25, 2010