Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday said the Visayas business leaders gathering in Bacolod City today should help find ways to bring down power costs to boost the local economy.

“We cannot draw industries to our area if we do not have an efficient and cheap source of power,” he said.

About 250 businessmen, professionals and government executives from all over the Visayas are joining the 20th Visayas Area Business Conference and Expo that kicks off this morning at the L Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Frank Carbon said.

Vice President Jejomar Binay will address the delegates at its closing rites on Saturday.

Arthur Aguilar, president of Global Business Power Corp., will speak at the business conference tomorrow morning on the “Visayas Electric Power Situation.”

Aguillar told the DAILY STAR yesterday that while his firm is interested in building a coal-fired power plant in Negros Occidental, a facility of at least 82-megawatt does not appear economically viable at this time.

That is because Central Negros Electric Cooperative, whose consumers use more than half of the power needed by Negros Occidental, is already locked up in long-term contracts with power producers outside the province.

Aguilar also said his firm has scoured the entire Negros Occidental for a deep water port, ideal for the building of a coal plant and the only area that has potential, so far, is Pulupandan.

However, the area around the port is already congested and having to haul coal needed for a plant to an area away from the port is not ideal, he added.

Energy Undersecretary Josefina Patricia Asirit will also discuss “current hurdles in fuel and electronic power industries “at the business conference tomorrow morning.

The governor said numerous groups have expressed interest in putting up a power plant in Negros Occidental.

“It’s not a joke to put up a plant, you need a very thorough detailed study,” he said.

The governor said that, with the downsizing of the Northern Negros Geothermal Power Plant in Bago City from a projected 40-megawatt facility to 5 to 10 megawatts, it is all the more urgent for another power plant to be built in Negros Occidental.

The Filinvest group has expressed interest in putting up a power plant in Bago City to be fueled by natural gas, the governor said.

They are very serious about it, I think they are negotiating for the purchase of land in Bago City, he said.

Definitely natural gas is a cleaner source of energy, he added.

The opening ceremonies of the business conference will be at 9 a.m. today .

Among the speakers in today’s sessions at the conference are Budget and Management Undersecretary Mario Relampagos who will discuss the role of public private partnership in sustainable economic development.*CPG

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