The Senate Committee on Public Services on Tuesday, March 5, held a hearing on three bills seeking franchises to operate power distribution facilities, including that of the Negros Electric Power Corporation (NEPC).
House Bill No. 9805 that seeks to grant NEPC a franchise, is a measure borne out of public clamor for better power service in Negros Occidental, said Senator Grace Poe, who chairs the Committee on Public Services, in her opening statement.
The measure seeks to grant a franchise to NEPC, a joint venture between Primelectric and the existing power distributor, Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO).
Under the joint venture NEPC will take over the power distribution services of CENECO that covers Bacolod, Silay, Talisay and Bago cities, as well as the municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto.
Roel Z. Castro, president of NEPC, told the committee that they will rehabilitate and modernize the distribution system and provide better power service to Negrenses with the infusion of capital and work to bring down power rates.
Poe said she has seen the performance of More Power that has brought tremendous development to Iloilo and she hopes it can be replicated in Bacolod.
Wennie Sancho, secretary general of Power Watch, aired his group’s full support for the granting of the NEPC franchise.
Those opposing the granting of the franchise questioned the legality and alleged anomalies in the holding of the plebiscite that approved the joint venture agreement between Ceneco and Primelectric.
A union representative also insisted that Ceneco is not an ailing cooperative contrary to claims of the proponents of the JVA and aired his concern for the future of the cooperative’s employees.
Senator Win Gachalian asked the Department of Energy to conduct an independent inquiry on the plebiscite and the JVA in response of the complaints raised, and for the National Electrification Administration to answer allegations on the conduct of the plebiscite.
He also asked the NEPC to submit a report on all the deliverables it is committing to infuse when it takes over the power distribution areas of Ceneco.
Poe said they will determine whether another hearing on the NEPC franchise should be held that could also include the Senate Committee on Energy.
Poe said the agenda at Tuesday’s hearing was “to focus on our pursuit to provide accessible, affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity for all, especially in the middle of widespread and frequent brownouts and power interruptions in different parts of the country that make our countrymen suffer”.
Poe said she does not want to delay progress.
The two other bills seeking franchises that were heard by Poe’s committee were for the Leyte II Electric Cooperative Inc. and the Romblon Electric Cooperative Inc.
“Having a franchise is a privilege. Attached to this is the great responsibility to provide public service. Therefore, when it is not performed properly it can be withdrawn,” she said.
The hearing will allow the committee to scrutinize the pending bills to ensure that a franchise is only granted to those qualified and responsible to provide good public service, Poe added.*