A signature campaign calling for the investigation and criminal prosecution of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative board of directors (CENECO-BOD) and management for signing an alleged illegal power supply contract and extensions has been launched, former Bacolod councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. said Tuesday, August 30.
The petition also cited the consequent high cost of electricity and brownouts.
The petition calls on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Senator Rafael Tulfo – Senate Committee on Energy chairman and Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to look into the matter and help CENECO member-consumers file formal complaints in a proper court.
They are also asked that CENECO immediately be registered with the Cooperative Development Authority.
CENECO president Jojit Yap denied the allegations hurled in the petition, pointing out that the National Electrification Administration (NEA) has already ruled that they did not commit anything illegal.
The petition said the CENECO BOD signed a 40-megawatt Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with KEPCO-SALCON (KSP) at the rate of P5.42 per kilowatt hour (kWh) that expired on May 25, 2021 and illegally extended it.
The extension set the rate of power purchased at P5.42 per kWh as against the winning Competitive Selection Process price of P3.29 kWh, the petition added.
“The difference is P2.13 or an estimated P368 million for one year – on top of the 24-megawatt old PSA which was earlier and likewise illegally extended,” it said.
The Time of Use rate mentioned was the amount that was paid up to December 2021 prior to the issuance of default notice and cancellation of supply from KSP.
Since this was terminated, CENECO is now purchasing power from the Whole Electricity Spot Market at the amount from P8 to P15 per kWh, it added.
The actions of the CENECO BOD and management resulted to the unexplained rise of monthly electricity rates, unexplained brownouts, unannounced load shedding scheme due to demand and supply, strict implementation of the One-Bill Policy;
Non-implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement provisions with CENECO employees, inability to refund P236 million as ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the availment of a P135 million commercial loan to be shouldered again by the paying consumers, the petition claimed.
Gamboa said the signature campaign against the cooperative’s officials was initiated by the CENECO Consumers Forum and Amlig Kuryente with other groups.
IT’S BASELESS: YAP
Yap said the complaint against the CENECO BOD on the alleged illegal contract and extensions was already dismissed by the NEA for being baseless.
“All electric cooperatives are suffering from high cost of electricity because of high generation cost charged to CENECO by power suppliers. Not just CENECO. It is the power generators that increased their rates and CENECO has no control over them,” she said.
“This is due to the current economic crisis brought about by high cost of fuel and coal. Ceneco continues to maintain its collection (distribution cost) share of only 1.1866 per kw. The rest goes to generation, transmission, taxes and systems loss,” she added.
Yap said the breakdown of the CENECO residential rate for August is:
Brown outs are natural occurrences caused by many factors, Yap said.
“There are scheduled brownouts and non-scheduled ones. And it’s not just CENECO lines that are affected. Many times, NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) lines and power generators lines also cause interruptions,” she said.*