IT’S NOT often that one gets to sit down and have coffee and conversation with the president and chief executive officer of MORE Powe,r Roel Z. Castro, and that’s exactly what happened Friday last week. Sir Roel was his usual charming self as he played host to the Panay News family at the corporate office of MORE Power.
It was indeed a lovely conversation over coffee and delectable pastries with our host keeping us mesmerized over stories, interesting anecdotes on the early days of MORE Power in Iloilo City.
We also were privy to some inside information on the volatile energy open market and its effect on the electric rates which at the moment I can’t reveal but it does look quite promising.
Meanwhile, we segue to the fire caused by “faulty electrical wiring” – the result of an overloaded electrical connection that burst into flames. In Iloilo City, overloaded electrical connections are the direct results of another cliché, “illegal electric connection.”
An illegal electricity connection a.k.a. “jumper” is made when a person attaches their home’s electrical circuit to the power grid without a meter. This is done without the consent or knowledge of the power provider.
Some people make money by supplying illegal connections and others have no legal way to access electricity and so they resort to illegal connections. Others have access to legal electricity but prefer not to have to pay for it.
An illegal jumper overloading the power lines causes system overload / power interruptions resulting into your classic brownout, or the power lines explode and we have your usual electrical fire that burn down the whole neighborhood.
Recently, a fire in barangays West Habog-Habog and San Juan in Molo district burned to the ground a 1.3-hectare area composed mostly of informal settlers (300 households).
According to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), initial reports show the cause was electrical in nature.
Take note that of the 300 households, more than half, 159 exactly, have no electric meters, according to the fact-finding investigation.
Incidentally, an illegal electrical connection or jumper is a criminal offense, a violation of the Anti-Pilferage of Electricity Act and Theft of Electric Transmission Lines / Materials Act of 1994 RA 7832.
In the past, one of the main reasons besides profit of “jumpers” is the stringent requirements imposed by the previous power utility.
To remedy this, MORE Power partnered with the Iloilo City Government for a “power for all” program called “I-Konek, MORE Konek” which aims to address the city’s informal settlers and low-load applicants with simplified and friendlier requirements.
MORE Konek is a dynamic Customer welfare-driven initiative of MORE Power that will bring MORE customer-friendly application process to the barangays.
And here are the basic requirements specifically for the informal settler:
INFORMAL SETTLER APPLICANT
You are considered as an informal settler applicant if you are not able to present proof of occupancy documents.
Bring the following:
1. Accomplished Application Form (Application forms for Informal Settler applicants are available at More Power Customer Services Office and at our partner establishments. You may also download the applicable form through our website at Residential Customer Application Form.pdf.)
2. Original and photocopy of one (1) government-issued ID
3. Original and photocopy of Barangay Residency Certificate (This requirement can be requested from your local barangay unit.)
4. Original and photocopy of Electrical Safety Inspection Report with Electrical Plan and Vicinity Map (This requirement is a government requirement and is being processed at the Office of the Building Official under the City Engineer’s Office. The Electrical Safety Inspection Report is only good for one year. Informal settler consumers are then required to reapply after the expiry of their inspection report.
5. Oath of Undertaking
As a result of this customer friendly process, from 62,000 MORE Power has now 91,000 and counting legitimate consumers.
So there you go folks. Take advantage of MORE Power’s very customer-friendly application process and go legit. Along the way you save your homes, help minimize brownouts and prevent fires./PN
