The Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) and the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative under the new Crown Investment Holdings management have assured continuous supply of power to Zamboangueños pending the finalization of a new compromise agreement, the latest of which expired November 5.

Vice Mayor Rommel Agan disclosed this following a talk with Tirso Santillan, Executive Vice President of Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc., parent company of WMPC.

Santillan and Atty. Joseph Omar Castillo, representing Crown Investments have a reached a tentative agreement during a meeting along with other top officials of WMPC and Zamcelco in Makati Wednesday morning. The meeting was aimed to thresh out issues in relation to the ongoing dispute at the Energy Regulatory Commission and to negotiate a new compromise agreement, according to Agan.

The tentative agreement, Agan said, needs to be formalized by the lawyers of both WMPC and Zamcelco and submitted to the ERC for approval.

The vice  mayor said pending the finalization of the new agreement, Santillan assured that WMPC will continue to supply power in accordance with the nomination to be made by Zamcelco.

Last Tuesday Agan voluntarily attended the Zamcelco board meeting during which the management also assured that the cooperative will continue nomination of power with WMPC while the negotiations are ongoing.

Recall that the WMPC and Zamcelco with the intervention of the ERC has forged a compromise agreement in relation to the payment dues by Zamcelco to power supplier WMPC. The second compromise agreement expired Nov. 5 prompting the WMPC to write Zamcelco demanding the payment of the balance of the claimed amount of P97,762 million that both parties had agreed in the said contract. WMPC Vice President and Business Manager for Diesel Operation Edgar Sevilles in a letter to Zamcelco dated Nov. 4 said that the WMPC may no longer be in the position to perform its reciprocal obligation to supply power to Zamcelco if no corresponding payment of the balance is made after Nov. 12. (Sheila Covarrubias)