DoE Usec appointed OIC of Napocor

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has approved the designation of Energy Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the National Power Corp. (Napocor), the latter said late Wednesday.

Mr. Marcos will be concurrently serving in his role at the Department of Energy.

In a statement, Napocor said it welcomed Mr. Marcos as its OIC Wednesday afternoon.

The appointment took the form of a letter from Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea detailing the designation of Mr. Marcos as OIC.

Mr. Marcos will be replacing Melchor P. Ridulme, Napocor’s vice-president for Legal Affairs, as OIC.

Mr. Marcos said his priorities are “ensuring smooth operations and prudence in the use of resources… (and) impactful projects that will benefit stakeholders especially the poor and some of the minority groups that Napocor affects.

Mr. Marcos has been Energy undersecretary for seven years, and has handled a portfolio of projects covering energy efficiency and conservation, alternative fuels, energy resource development, downstream oil industry management and the nuclear energy program.

Mr. Ridulme was named interim OIC two months ago following the death of the company’s former head Pio J. Benavidez.

Napocor provides power to far-flung, and off-grid areas and islands via the Small Power Utilities Group.

The company also manages the government’s remaining assets including the 981-megawatt Agus and Pulangi hydro plants in Mindanao, and various watersheds and dams. — Angelica Y. Yang