By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
“CENTRAL Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) is now ailing and (financially) bleeding.”
So said Bacolod City’s Councilor Wilson “Jun” Gamboa, Jr. of Amlig Kuryente and Wennie Sancho of Power Watch Negros (PWN).
Too, they chorused the coop is currently facing a “triple whammy” and seems to be beyond redemption.
Claimed by Sancho, “internal and external choreographies” are now in effect leading to mismanagement and to the privatization of Ceneco.
Like the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) before, there are these unknown “artists”, too, who are up to create an ala “doomsday scenario” in Ceneco to justify a government takeover or the privatization of the latter, Gamboa confided.
Around four private companies, Gamboa professed, are now “salivating” with the recent “not so nice” reports about Ceneco.
The councilor also bared that the franchises of 124 electric coops across the country will simultaneously expire three years from now, and Ceneco is one of these.
So, hypothesized by Gamboa, the current “unhappier reports” on Ceneco will pave the way for a “well-planned” privatization of the coop.
Both Gamboa’s and Sancho’s unvarying projection about Ceneco is somehow “too heavy” to take in yet by ordinary beings. Even power consumers – big or small – cannot grasp it still.
But Gamboa articulated that the entire “stage production” for the takeover or privatization of Ceneco is almost complete and ready for execution.
The “choreographers” are just waiting for the proper timing, he said. So, Gamboa stressed, Ceneco’s consumers from Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, Bago, Don Salvador and Murcia shouldn’t be shocked anymore (just in case).
“Sad, but this is the reality that the public should embrace now,” he furthered.
Well, Gamboa and Sancho may sound “alarmists”. But try to decipher their respective stance on the matter. Little by little, I am sure you’ll discover that the “hammer’s ready to poke a nail” sooner.
So, let’s dissect now this so-called “triple whammy” on Ceneco that Gamboa and Sancho are claiming.
WHAMMY NO. 1
On May 30, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ordered Ceneco to pay its 322 rank-and-file employees a 5% increase in their monthly pay from 2017 to date.
DOLE also compelled Cenece to pay the P15,000 signing bonus for each employee as stipulated in their collective negotiation agreement (CNA).
DOLE gave Ceneco only 15 days (upon receipt of notice) to effect such order.
Atty. Rey Gorgonio, acting as counsel for the workers’ union, expects Ceneco to immediately release around P7 million to P8 million to comply with DOLE’s ultimatum.
Ceneco management filed a motion for reconsideration (MR) on DOLE’s order. But Gorgonio pointed out, “Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III’s order was very explicit, thus, Ceneco should strictly abide by it with finality.”
To expedite the implementation of DOLE’s order, Gorgonio said they also filed an MR, asking Secretary Bello to immediately issue the Writ of Execution.
Question: Why these things happened?
The coop management and workers’ union have pending approved CNA way back in 2017. It wasn’t implemented due to some unavoidable circumstances though. However, in September last year, the coop management insisted to hold the controversial Annual General Membership Agreement (AGMA) amidst plangent opposition from various stakeholders.
There, the CNA was approved until the management realized later that it can’t fulfill a certain financial obligation stated in that pact unless the coop meets more than 95% collection efficiency. Gosh!
WHAMMY NO. 2
Also on May 30, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered Ceneco and two other electric coops in Luzon to refund their respective consumers a total of P293.891 million worth of OVER-COLLECTIONS that accrued in their billings from 2004 to 2017.
Of the total amount, Ceneco has the biggest to refund at P237.949 million.
In a press briefing last week, Engr. Norman Pollentes, the coop’s corporate planning manager, told the media, “Ceneco’s suffering because of this order. It’ll affect the financial viability of Ceneco as an electric cooperative.”
But what is this over-collection?
Explained by Gamboa,“These are pass-through charges thrown to the consumers that included the generation and transmission rates, system loss, life line subsidy and senior citizen’s rate.”
“So, because Ceneco, among other electric coops in the country are required to submit a Monthly Reportorial Inputs (MRIs), ERC spotted these over-collections.”
Asked how they’ll dwell on the matter, Pollentes said they’ve already submitted a viable (computation) formula to the ERC for approval.
But Ceneco, stressed by Pollentes, definitely won’t refund consumers in “cold cash”. It’ll be via offsetting instead, he said.
Question: Will it be reflected on the (future) monthly billings of the consumers?
WHAMMY NO. 3
Just recently, Ceneco and one of its major power suppliers, Cebu-based KEPCO SPC Power Corporation, “divorced” due to “disagreement” over a controversial power accord. Thus, this unexpected happening left Ceneco to currently buy 20-megawatt (MW) of its needed power from Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
But KEPCO, Gamboa revealed, is now legally pressing Ceneco to pay the contested price difference on their one-year, 20-MW extended Power Supply Agreement (PSA) inked in May last year.
Why?
So, simple! Both Ceneco and KEPCO agreed in their extended PSA for a power price of P5.42/kWh.
But P5.42/kWh is a bit higher than what’s stipulated in the coop’s approved Competitive Selection Process’ (CSP) price cap of only P3.29/kWh. Thus, Sancho’s PWN challenged such extended PSA before the ERC and Department of Energy (DOE), and it won.
ERC and DOE ordered Ceneco to refer back to its CSP, forcing the latter to subscribe to the Time of Use (TOU) rate of P3.52/kWh by the Private Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation, which is the legal way.
Too, ERC and DOE schooled Ceneco execs to read a Supreme Court’s jurisprudence “Alayansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, Inc. vs Meralco, et al.” in 2015 about CSP for proper guidance and enlightenment.
Anyways, from May last year to March this year, KEPCO is pressing Ceneco to pay the price difference of P1.90/kWh between their extended PSA and PSALM’s TOU
With this, to date, Ceneco owes KEPCO around P252-M.
ONE BILL POLICY
Question: Where will Ceneco get the money?
Malou Parroco, coop’s promotion section head, announced they’ll impose the “One Bill Policy” (OBP) to cope with these “oddest” happenings.
With OBP, Ceneco, vowed Parroco, will refrain from engaging to any haggling scenario once a certain consumer will have multiple bills.
Is that so? Quite ironic, isn’t it? If Ceneco can’t refund consumers yet (per ERC mandate), why pressure them to pay their bills ASAP?
I think Ceneco officials should be considerate enough, considering that the consequences brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Likewise, consumers want to know if there’s truth on Gamboa’s and Sancho’s claims. If Ceneco is indeed financially bleeding, why not tell the public?/PN
