DO YOU HAVE BILLIONS? Gov’t takeover ambitious, says PECO

ILOILO City – The proposed government takeover of the sole power distribution utility in this city is easier said than done, according to the legal counsel of Panay Electric Company (PECO).

One cannot take over a private property without just compensation, stressed Atty. Honorato Sayno.

How much is PECO worth?

“Close to several billions of pesos,” said Sayno.

On Tuesday, the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed a resolution opposing the renewal of PECO’s franchise and calling on the national government to take over the power distribution utility “until a qualified distributor comes in.”

“You cannot just take over PECO. If you want, you can put up your own poles, meters, office and substations, feeders and everything, or buy (PECO) out,” said Sayno.

The city council cited, among others, poor customer complaints service and erroneous electric meter readings for seeking a government takeover of PECO or the opening up of the power distribution business in the city to other players.

According to Sayno, the better option is to rectify the supposed errors or poor service of PECO.

He also cited legal issues in the takeover call. For one, he said, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 was enacted purposely so that electricity distribution, generation and transmission would be run by the private sector.

It is the policy of the State, under Section 2 (d) of the EPIRA, “to enhance the inflow of private capital and broaden the ownership base of the power generation, transmission and distribution sectors in order to minimize the financial risk exposure of the national government.”

Marcelo Cacho, PECO’s information technology and administration officer, acknowledged the need for the company to improve.

He assured city residents that PECO “(has) been taking steps for the past several years.”

“We will continue to work, bisan indi kami gaan franchise, until the moment we’re told to stop. Commitment na ‘yan ng PECO,” said Cacho.

PECO’s franchise is expiring on 2019.

Sayno stopped short of calling the government takeover proposal an impossibility if not impractical.

“This is the biggest promise we heard so far. How is it going to be done? I think this is a big dream,” he said.

Without naming names, Sayno said “people advocating this takeover should tell us what are the procedures, parameters and how it’s going to be done.”

Two of the most vocal city officials against PECO are councilors Joshua Alim and R Leone Gerochi.

“People who have ambitions, whatever that is, should make this clear to the people whose lives are dependent on…you know, electricity is a very big economic factor,” said Sayno.

“Give us the complete mechanism and maybe I can take my hat off and salute that guy espousing this dream,” he added.

Sayno did not discount the possibility that the “PECO issue” is being used for political purposes.

“Let us not do the people a disservice…we cannot leave the people hanging and go back to the dark ages,” he said.

According to Cacho, of around 60,000 consumers, the formal complaints PECO received were only about 60, excluding those who sought the help of Alim which were about 92.

“Some (complaints coursed through Alim) are not yet verified. Waay pa kami gin-gaaan chance mag-rectify,” said Cacho.

PECO filed an application to renew its franchise with the Committee on Legislative Franchises in the House of Representatives. The congressional hearing for this is Nov. 22.

In a resolution passed last week, the SP urged the committee to hold the hearing in this city to give consumers the opportunity to speak about PECO.

Mikel Afzelius, PECO corporate communications officer, played down the city council’s call for the non-renewal of the power distribution utility’s franchise.

PECO, he said, wanted to work with the city council for the city’s progress.

In an interview with Panay News early this week, Afzelius said, “We have a common ground in trying to help the people of Iloilo City…the city council wants to protect the rights of the citizens while we in PECO want to serve our valued consumers better.”/PN

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