DMCI gets income tax break for Palawan power facility

Off-grid energy producer DMCI Power Corp. (DPC) has gained tax breaks for its P620-million power facility which will provide 10 megawatts (MW) of supply in Palawan by year-end.

The Board of Investments (BOI) recently granted DPC a six-year income tax holiday for its 2x4.95-MW bunker-fired power plant in Aborlan, Palawan, the company said in a statement.

“This incentive will effectively lower DPC’s true cost of generation charge, in the end benefitting the electricity consumers of Palawan,” said DPC president Nestor Dadivas said.

The tax holiday will be applied once the Aborlan facility begins its commercial operations or six years from December 2016, whichever is earlier.

DPC is investing around P620 million to build the facility which will contribute nearly 10 MW of electricity to the Palawan grid.

“Construction of the Aborlan plant is proceeding as scheduled. We expect it to go online by year-end,” added Dadivas.

Aborlan is a first-class municipality located 69 kilometers south of Puerto Princesa City, with an estimated population of over 32,000.

Power projects in missionary areas qualify for pioneer status under the BOI’s 2014 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

DPC’s entitlement to the tax incentive was determined based on its project’s ability to contribute to the economy’s development as measured by its net value added, new jobs generated, multiplier effect and measured capacity.

Apart from Palawan, the company also provides power to Masbate, Calapan, Oriental Mindoro and Sultan Kudarat through supply contracts with electric cooperatives. –