ILOILO City – Will there be a blackout during the transition of the power distribution system in this city from Panay Electric Company (PECO) to MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power)? Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) members are anxious and have agreed to hear it straight from these two power distribution utilities.
Yesterday, city councilors welcomed MORE Power’s intention to appear before the SP, discuss its plans for the city, and take questions from the council members.
MORE Power’s franchise application has been “approved in principle” by the Senate’s Committee on Public Services even if it has no power distribution facilities in place yet and is only banking on taking over those of PECO.
PECO, however, vowed to not sell its facilities to MORE Power.
The councilors agreed to listen to what MORE Power has to say and set the date – Nov. 26.
They were also open to hearing the side of PECO whose franchise is expiring this January 2019 and whose application for franchise renewal is not moving in the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises.
The city must be prepared, according to Councilor R Leone Gerochi, stressing that the priority is to prevent power interruptions during the transition from PECO to MORE Power.
Gerochi attended the Nov. 8 meeting of the technical working group that the Senate’s Committee on Public Services formed to ensure a smooth transition. He said it became clear that the shift in power distribution utility won’t be easy.
“This was why the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) proposed a two-year transition period,” said Gerochi.
According to Councilor Plaridel Nava, chairperson of the SP committee on public utilities, a representative of MORE Power informed him of the company’s intention to discuss its transition plan with the city council.
“The President and technical people of MORE Power will be here,” said Nava.
SUPPLY WORRIES
Councilor Armand Parcon, on the other hand, suggested that PECO, too, should be given a chance to face the city council “in the spirit of fairness.”
“We will invite PECO…to give us assurance that they will provide us with a steady supply of power until their legal battle on their franchise is over,” said Parcon.
In a statement yesterday, PECO questioned MORE Power’s plan to source the bulk of its power supply from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to ensure “cheap electricity rates” for Iloilo City.
“By drawing majority of Iloilo City’s power demand from the WESM, the city will be exposed to volatile rates that will dramatically shoot up and down each month. The most dangerous part, however, of getting majority of the power supply from the WESM is the inevitable nonstop power outages,” warned PECO.
According to PECO, WESM “is not capable of shouldering the entire power demand of Iloilo City (thus MORE Power’s) plan is equivalent to burying the economic progress of Iloilo City six feet below the ground.”
PECO also indicated it won’t give up its franchise area without a fight.
“Kuhaon lang daw nila ang assets sang PECO…Panay Electric Company will never sell its assets voluntarily. No, we will never sell our assets to a competitor,” said its legal counsel Inocencio Ferrer.
MORE Power should prove it is qualified to distribute power in the city, he stressed.
“Mabato kami ‘ya…Wala sila assets. Kun mahatagan man sila franchise sa January, ano ubrahon nila kay indi kami ‘ya maghatag voluntarily sang amon assets,” said Ferrer.
PECO, he added, will use all legal remedies available.
Ferrer questioned the constitutionality of MORE Power’s franchise application (House Bill 8302).
The bill grants PECO’s rival powers to expropriate.
“This unqualified and ill-equipped entity will not only be granted a franchise despite its lack of qualifications; it will also be granted the power to expropriate any and all properties of its competitor, PECO, in clear violation of the latter’s enshrined constitutional rights,” said Ferrer.
He warned that House Bill 8302 would allow MORE to expropriate properties for vague and overbroad reasons such as “the efficient maintenance and operation of services” and to “acquire such private property as is actually necessary for the realization of the purposes for which this franchise is granted.”/PN
