By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Negros Occidental Provincial Board is scheduled to visit coal-fired power plants in Iloilo or Cebu. Provincial Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko, who chairs the Provincial Board Committee on Energy, said the visit will be conducted after the Panaad sa Negros Festival, which begins on Monday.

He noted, the results of their visit will be added to the committee report, while the Committee on Environment will also conduct its own public hearing.

Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. earlier signed an executive order declaring the province “coal-free.”

According to officials from the Department of Energy (DOE), Negros Occidental is the only major area of the entire Visayas region that will have no reliable inland power source within the next five years.

DOE-Visayas energy management division chief, Engr. Rey Maleza, explained both Cebu and Iloilo are expected to open coal-fired power plants within the year, with two located in Cebu and one in Iloilo.

“This additional 480 Megawatts, to be generated from the three power plants, will suffice for the Visayas requirements [over] the next five years,” he explained./DGB, WDJ