ILOILO City – Panay Electric Co.’s (PECO) downfall may be attributed to its lack of major investments in the last nine years which left most of the facilities in the distribution system in a critical state, an independent study revealed.
This failure to maintain and upgrade the distribution system led to the deterioration of the power quality, to the detriment of consumers. They suffered from unreliable supply of electricity, low voltage and damaged electrical appliances.
PECO’s negligence in failing to replace faulty electromechanical meters – some of which were 15 years old – resulted to inaccurate meter readings. This angered countless Ilonggos as they were made to pay based on estimated averages and not on actual electricity consumed.
In the course of the hearing for the grant of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to MORE Power, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) conducted its own independent investigation of the actual state of the distribution system in Iloilo City as run by PECO.
It discovered alarming lapses in PECO’s operations and maintenance – or lack thereof – that posed a danger to the lives and properties of consumers.
Disgruntled Iloilo City consumers fed up with PECO’s subpar services paved the way for MORE Electric and Power Corp.’s (MORE Power) entry in Iloilo City, said its president and chief operating officer Roel Z. Castro.
He said MORE Power is now ready to implement corrective measures to improve the distribution system so that safe, reliable and quality electric services will be delivered to the Ilonggos.
If PECO was deaf to the request of consumers for new meters and new connections, MORE Power will be the exact opposite, Castro stressed.
“MORE Power will be proactive,” he said, “and we will make it as easy as possible for our consumers to apply for new connections because we consider access to electricity as a non-negotiable right.”
Castro said MORE Power invested in new kilowatt-hour (kWh) meters aimed at improving safety and service reliability.
Also, the easy application process for new connections aims to eliminate pilferage and overloading of transformers due to illegal connections by non-registered electricity consumers, he added.
MORE Power will step up and infuse the much-needed capital to be invested in the upgrading and maintenance of the distribution system without charging the consumers a higher rate, stressed Castro.
“As the coming weeks and months will show, there will be no broken promises for Ilonggos insofar as MORE Power is concerned – we will provide the consumers dependable yet inexpensive power,” he declared.
In sum, PECO has only itself to blame for its un-renewed franchise and revoked provisional CPCN, capped Castro./PN
