ILOILO City – Amid the wrangling of two private companies to secure a franchise to distribute power in this city, consumers want to assert and protect their rights.
In a position paper addressed to Congress which has the power to grant franchises, concerned city consumers listed several points they hoped congressmen and senators would consider before making a decision.
Panay Electric Company (PECO), the sole power distributor here for nearly a century, is seeking a 25-year extension of its franchise which will expire in January 2019. Meanwhile, newcomer More Electric and Power Corporation (More Power) wants to take PECO’s place and has applied for a franchise.
The consumers stressed they were neither pro- nor anti- PECO or More Power.
“At the end of the day this humble cause is designed principally to protect, enhance, develop and emphasize the rights and the role of electricity consumers or end-users in the field of distribution within the City of Iloilo,” read part of the position paper addressed to the chairmen of the committee on legislative franchises in the Lower House and Senate, Cong. Franz Alvarez and Sen. Grace Poe, respectively.
Citing Republic Act (RA) 9163 (Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA Law), consumers suggested the following:
* the creation and recognition of consumers’ cooperative, representing the interest of the entire end-users and electricity consumers, which should be allowed to own shares of stocks or equity in the distribution utility of at least 20 percent of the total shareholdings
* after five years from the grant or issuance of the franchise, the distribution utility concerned shall cause the initial public offering of its shares in such quantity or amount as may be determined reasonable by its Board of Directors, in compliance with RA 9136
* the distribution utility or grantee of the franchise shall not sell the company within a period of five years and shall fully comply with the reportorial requirements under the EPIRA Law
* in the event that the franchisee will sell the utility, the consumers’ cooperative shall have the right of first refusal or priority in the acquisition thereof, or the priority to look for an investor to address such sale, upon due notice which should be exercised within a reasonable period of 90 days from the notice to sell
* no officer, stockholder or member of the board of the distribution utility that will be granted the franchise shall enjoy exemption from payment of its, his or her electric consumption so as to unburden the end-users of the costly distribution charges that will be imposed by reason of the unwarranted privileges being enjoyed by the said officer, stockholder or member of the board of the distribution utility
* to develop within a period of one year a system of billing with the end and view of achieving an accurate method of charging the consumed electricity of the end-users
* 80 percent of the employees of the franchisee must come from or reside within the city or its neighboring metropolitan towns and in no case shall labor contractualization be practiced or observed in the hiring of employees
* a 24/7 hotline emergency number shall be provided to answer and respond to emergency situations, brownouts and other electrical related problems,
* a seamless transition mechanism shall be embodied in the franchise in the event that a new distribution utility be granted a franchise
“While we understand that the distribution of electricity requires massive investment and capital outlay that equally requires care and protection so as to prevent and avoid undue losses to the investors, we should not lose sight of the fact that the most important element of the power industry is the consumer or end-user,” the position paper read.
It reminded Alvarez and Poe that power consumers in Iloilo City are a “captive market” because they do not have a choice of electricity distributors at the moment.
“Since there is no competing distribution utility, we are subject to the norms, policies, operational standards, and requirements by a sole distribution utility. It is, thus, high and proper time that we got involved in the operation as well as policy- and decision-making process of whoever will be given a franchise. For at the end of the day, the death of the consumer will also spell the end of the business of power distribution,” the consumers stressed./PN
