ILOILO City – Empirical data prove it is serving the city well, according to Panay Electric Company (PECO) as it expressed confidence President Rodrigo Duterte knows Iloilo “is being provided with good electricity.”
“We assume he has seen the power reliability records in the country and where PECO stands when compared to other utilities,” the sole power distributor in this city said in a statement.
PECO, whose franchise is expiring this January 2019, was reacting to the President’s statement on Sunday in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. He said, “Because if it is providing good electricity eh gusto mo lang mang-agaw ng negosyo, sabi ko eh ‘wag na.”
The President appeared to be alluding to a new power distribution utility whose franchise to operate in this city has been “approved in principle” by the Senate’s Committee on Public Services despite not having its own power distribution facilities.
According to PECO, whose application for franchise renewal is not moving in the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises, it has been “supporting the growth of Iloilo City.”
It also said it ranked “far better with a System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) of only 1,550 minutes of outages for the entire 2017.”
President Duterte commented on Iloilo City’s power distribution situation during the First Subaraw Biodiversity Festival in Puerto Princesa City. He initially warned the sole power distributor in Palawan, the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO), to solve the frequent power disruptions in the province or he would expropriate its franchise. He eventually mentioned the situation in Iloilo City.
“If it can provide everything that the city needs to improve and to develop, then hindi ako makikialam,” said the President.
According to PECO, it is ranked better in SAIDI compared to PALECO which had a “whopping 11,116 minutes of outages.”
The President, added PECO, was “simply being practical…since much work is needed in Palawan in terms of power reliability.”
“We assume he has seen the power reliability records in the country and where PECO stands when compared to other utilities. That is why he is probably not keen on a takeover since he himself knows that Iloilo City, as he mentioned, is being provided good electricity and the improvements are set in place,” stressed PECO.
PECO also said it had been cited by the Private Electric Plant Operators Association (PEPOA) as one of the better performing electric distribution utilities in the country, having ranked in the top 15 percent out of over 140 utilities.
“We appreciate that the President has taken the time to look at the actual facts and records and has seen PECO as supporting the growth of Iloilo City,” added PECO.
Meanwhile, PECO’s staunch critic Councilor Joshua Alim said he was glad the power distribution issue in this city has reached the President’s attention.
“Amo na ang ginahulat ko nga makalab-ot kay President Digong,” said Alim who is against the renewal of PECO’s franchise.
He added: “Whatever ang decision sang Presidente, let us respect that. Kon i-retain ‘ya, i-veto ‘ya, whatsoever, iya ina call,” said Alim./PN
It speaks for itself. you can’t kill something good for iloilo. Peco is doing its mandate. it’s clear corruption on the part of congress to even consider something else. What’s at stake,in our country money really talks nothing for the people. it’s sad.