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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Friday, June 16, 2017
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ILOILO City – Two party-list congressmen committed to pass a resolution calling for a congressional investigation on Panay Electric Company (PECO).
According to Councilor Joshua Alim, Kabayan’s Rep. Harry Roque and Bayan Muna’s Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate will also push to have the investigation conducted in this city.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) recently passed a resolution asking Congress to investigate PECO over the following consumers’ complaints:
* unreliable meter readings
* sudden rise in electric bills
* arrogant employees
* unexplained charges
“Such conditions cause discomfort and inconvenience to consumers, in violation of PECO’s franchise,” read part of the SP resolution.
According to Alim, the congressional inquiry is timely because PECO’s 25-yeear franchise is expiring in 2019 and the city’s sole power distributor is expected to start lobbying in Congress for its franchise renewal next year.
“Congressmen must be aware that consumers have problems with PECO,” said Alim.
The councilor also said he already forward to the Energy Regulation Commission (ERC) the complaints of 35 consumers against PECO.
The Office of the President was also sent copies, he added.
The complaints were submitted to PECO but for 15 days it did not act on them, Alim lamented.
The city council twice summoned PECO to answer the consumers’ complaint but it snubbed the SP inquiry conducted by the committee on transportation, energy and public utilities last week.
Alim helped consumers prepare their complaints mostly about alleged violations of the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers.
During the SP inquiry, consumers accused PECO of overbilling them.
PECO’s snubbing of the SP inquiry was a show of arrogance, said Alim.
It was Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog who pressed for an SP inquiry.
According to PECO corporate communications officer Mikel Afzelius, they were willing to address the consumers’ concerns but in the “proper forum” – ERC.
“Amo gid man na proper movement for any consumer complaint. It is normal for anybody to raise concerns to the ERC kon my issue sila sa distribution utility,” said Afzelius in a previous interview.
He denied that PECO was being arrogant for not showing up at the SP inquiry.
If Afzelius were to be believed, “majority” of consumers’ concerns in the past were ironed out.
“Now, if there are still consumers nga wala ka-settle, we invite them to come sa office so we can hear them out one by one. We cannot assume that their concerns are all the same,” he said.
PECO wanted to address each concern “rather than everybody is there (in the SP inquiry) and we don’t know what each consumer’s specific concern is all about,” said Afzelius./PN
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