The Power Watch secretary-general is urging the Senate to expedite the approval of the Negros Electric Power Corporation (NEPC) franchise to level up the operations of Central Negros Electric Cooperative.
Wennie Sancho, in a statement Tuesday, April 23, said that granting of the NEPC franchise will be a morale-booster for consumers who can no longer bear the suffering brought about by power outages.
“Our distribution lines that move electricity over long distances are built on transmission equipment that average 20 to 30 years old or more, and much of which have passed their usefulness and reliability”, Sancho said.
Brownouts not only give rise to irritation but also serve as a disincentive to investments and thereby are obstacles to employment generation, Sancho said, citing the brownouts that hit Bacolod on March 26 and April 11.
“The infrastructure of CENECO must be rehabilitated before it collapses under the weight of its own contradictions”, he added.*