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[av_heading heading=’Probe into Ceneco ‘oversupply’ sought’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – Why are Negrenses forced to pay for electricity they do not use? A concerned citizen wants to know, according to Task Force Crusaders.
The task force asked three energy-related government agencies and the Office of the President to investigate the alleged “power oversupply contracting” of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco).
Acting National Commander John Chiong said the task force, which works under the Office of the Solicitor General, received a letter-complaint from a concerned Bacolod resident “representing Ceneco consumers.”
Chiong referred the matter to Department of Energy secretary Alfonso Cusi, National Electrification Administration administrator Edgardo Masongsong, Energy Regulation Commission (ERC) chairman Jose Vicente Salazar, and Special Assistant to the President Bong Go.
The letter-complaint specifically tagged the Ceneco Board of Directors led by the president Arnel Lapore, Chiong wrote the agencies on Nov. 28.
Chiong clarified that Task Force Crusaders had nothing against Ceneco but was merely serving as conduit of the complaint.
He believes an investigation would facilitate transparency in the cooperative’s transactions.
“Why were we Negrosanons forced to pay electricity we did not use?” the concerned citizen wrote Chiong on Nov. 21.
“An investigation by concerned agencies will bring out to the public the habitual contracting of power supply without regard to the limits of the needs of Ceneco and the cost impact to us consumers,” read part of the letter.
According to the complainant, consumers were being charged with P349 million in “additional generation charges from two excessive power supply contracts” signed by Lapore and other Ceneco directors.
“[These] include 24 megawatts of intermediate power covering 12 to 16 hours a day but signed by Lapore to become a base-load supply with 24-hour service with Korean Power Corp. in Cebu,” the letter read. “This resulted in unused excessive contracted energy that will be charged to Ceneco consumers, costing P232 million in additional billings.”
The other one was “20 megawatts of peaking and reserve power with Filinvest that was signed instead as a base-load contract for 24 hours with minimum guarantee of P14 million kWh (kilowatt-hour) per month,” the complainant claimed.
“The excess energy was 6 million kWh per month, the cost of which is charged to consumers,” the letter stated. “Filinvest is claiming an additional charge of P147 million to Ceneco consumers.”
Lapore again issued a “letter of amendment” to new power supplier Palm Concepcion, “increasing the original contract of 25 megawatts by adding 10 megawatts of base-load power,” said the complainant. This will cost Ceneco consumers to “P300 million per year” of “undue charges for over-contracted energy.”
For his part, Lapore said there was nothing irregular in the contracts of Ceneco.
Everything was aboveboard, with the ERC approving the power supply agreements and the Board approving the contracts upon the recommendation of the management, he stressed./PN
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