FOR SURE there have been changes both cosmetic and tangible affecting the lives of the natives of “I Am Iloilo City”.
The most recent change couldn’t have come in a better time as we are in the midst of a pandemic when people are in a survival mode because of the virus COVID-19 and the quarantine which has affected people’s livelihood.
Of course we are talking about this:
For the first time in almost a century, “I Am Iloilo City” now has the lowest electric rate in the country at P6.45 per kilowatt hour which started last month till December, hopefully beyond that.
A typical household consuming 300kWh can expect a savings of about P1,067.64 in their July electricity bill, as the average rate for residential consumers decreased by P3.5588 per kWh.
On a personal note, with the erstwhile power provider, we used to average about P7,000. It went down to about P6,000 when MORE Power took over. With this latest reduction, we went down to about P4,000 plus. Not bad. In fact it’s very good.
What is also significant about this change is that it has a positive effect on the environment as the new power distributor now purchases majority of the city’s power requirements from a geothermal plant in Leyte which is 100 percent sustainable and no longer from a coal plant that causes air pollution destroying the environment.
Meanwhile, we revisit another change – running after illegal electrical connections or “jumpers”.
According to technical studies conducted by engineering firm MIESCOR Engineering Corp., there could be as many as 30,000 illegal power connections in the city that proliferated during the watch of PECO with them seemingly doing nothing about it.
When “Oplan Valeria” – the campaign against illegal electrical connections or “jumpers” – was launched, over 300 kilometers of jumper cables weighing more than 10 tons were confiscated in the first month of operation alone.
Since it started, Oplan Valeria has carried out anti-jumper raids to 156 out of 180 barangays in the city; it does not stop there as the remaining 24 barangays will soon experience the same.
Security has also been tightened plus increased surveillance on identified “hot spots” meaning areas notorious for the prevalence of these “illegalistas”.
The relentless ongoing “Oplan Valeria” has so far apprehended 30 elected public officials; 10 barangay captains, 19 barangay kagawads, and one city councilor all caught with their knickers down violating Republic Act No. 7832, otherwise known as the Anti-Pilferage of Electricity and Theft of Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Act of 1994.
With this embarrassing development, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Western Visayas is far from pleased (to say the least) at the recent spate of arrests of local elected officials found pilfering power in Iloilo City.
In an interview over a local radio station, Atty. Cedric Jaranilla, legal officer of DILG-6, said, “It is very disturbing to say the least.”
“In fact, the matter has been referred to the Central Office for proper action,” he added.
On the brighter side (pun intended), Barangay San Pedro, Molo, a notorious “hot spot” home to these illegalistas, is now a “jumper-free” community and a model barangay.
These illegal electrical connections are one of the major causes of brownouts aside form force majeure and scheduled power interruptions hence the need to eliminate if not reduce to an insignificant level.
On a somewhat comical note, this councilor caught literally with a “jumper” is also the same dude whose billboards, tarpaulins, posters the classic epal kind are sprouting along prominent streets. It’s quite obvious that they’re in aid of re-election (the dude is a first-term councilor). It’s a jump-the-gun before the actual campaign period starts.
Perhaps instead of saying “No to Drugs” along with his smug silly grin, the message should be: “No to Illegal Electric Jumpers.”
It looks like “Nong Moroy” is finally clearing “I Am Iloilo City” from these illegalistas. A far cry from the classic apathy of “Don Pecoy”. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com)/PN)
