The disconnection of power at 10 public elementary schools in Bacolod City on Wednesday morning was caused by “miscoordination”, Arnel Lapore, Central Negros Electric Cooperative acting general manager, said Thursday, May 4.
“We sincerely regret the incident…To this, I humbly seek your apologies,” Lapore said in a letter to Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.
CENECO disconnected the electricity at the Singcang, Mandalagan, Estefania, Luis Hervias, ABKASA, Bata, Pahanocoy, Sum-ag, Punta Taytay and Mansilingan elementary schools while classes were ongoing on Wednesday.
Lapore said as of 10 a.m. Thursday power had been restored in nine schools.
The restoration of the power at the Singcang Elementary School was delayed because a fallen tree had impeded access of the power re-connector, he added.
Lapore and other CENECO officials met with Bacolod Councilor Al Victor Espino, City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III, and Department of Education officer Elizabeth R. Malaga on Thursday.
The city government pays for the electricity bills of public elementary schools, Espino said.
Ceneco cut off the power at the 10 elementary schools because of arrears in electricity bills, part of which were unpaid during the previous city administration.
Espino said apparently the city government and CENECO had deficiencies in coordination on the payment of the electricity bills.
It was as simple as lack of billing coordination, the city government will be paying its school electricity bills as early as Friday, Espino said.
Espino said CENECO was collecting about P19 million, but not all are current bills, he said, as some were arrears from the previous administration.
The city government is set to release a P10 million check on Friday, Espino said.
CENECO assured that they will not cut off electricity at the schools again without serving notices, Espino said.
The disconnection incident will not happen again because they established protocols for better coordination, Lapore said.
At the meeting Thursday they established”clear cut procedures and point persons/offices who will be responsible for the processing and eventual payment of power bills not only of the city schools but the city billings as well, so that current power bills arrearages will be avoided,” Lapore said in his letter to the mayor.
They were also able to establish linkages that will help monitor the progress of the processing of payment, he added.
Lapore said the past city administration had P287 million in arrears to CENECO. We are finding ways for this to be addressed, he said.
Meanwhile, the Benitez administration had committed to address its current electricity bills, Lapore said.*