Prime Asset Ventures Inc., the investment holding company of Manuel Paolo Villar, the eldest son of billionaire Manuel Villar, affirmed its support for the government’s rural electrification goals.
PAVI put up a combined 21.27 megawatts to serve the power requirements of Siquijor and Camotes Islands.
PAVI, through S.I. Power Corp. and Camotes Island Power Generation Corp., supplies power to nearly 60,000 households in the islands, resolving the unreliable power connection issue in the past.
PAVI president for power group Jose Rommel Orillaza said the company aimed to address the growing power needs of these off-grid communities.
“We’re detecting an increase in demand due to the holiday season. PAVI, through Sipcor and Campcor, has built the necessary infrastructure to serve these previously-underserved and unelectrified Filipino households. We aligned our business goals with the government’s direction in order to help prioritize rural electrification, as we believe this will also contribute to overall economic recovery,” said Orillaza.
Rural electrification is a top government priority as it yields more opportunities for Filipinos and results in improved quality of life, greater access to essential services and better infrastructure for rural development, according to the Department of Energy.
The DOE reported last year that more than 1.6 million households had not access to electricity, including 500,000 in the Visayas.
“In this day and age, it’s hard to believe that there are still Filipino communities in off-grid areas with no stable source of electricity. Our presence in these underserved areas is helping the government and the DOE in reaching 100-percent electrification in all households, thus improving the well-being and quality of lives of thousands of households and not to mention providing support to hundreds of MSMEs through the provision of power,” said Orillaza.
Sipcor has a 20-year power supply agreement with Siquijor Electric Cooperative Inc. It provides 12.86 MW of power through bunker-fired power generation facilities and power stations.
Campcor has a 15-year power supply agreement with Camotes Electric Cooperative Inc. for 8.41 MW of power through diesel plants and generating units.
Sipcor and Campcor are under the power group of PAVI. Other subsidiaries of PAVI are engaged in renewable energy, water, information and communication technologies, realty and entertainment and broadcast media.