BACOLOD City – Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) responded positively to the scheduled inquiry of the House of Representatives on Nov. 29 following several complaints.
Marinduque’s Cong. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, chairperson of the committee on energy, will lead the inquiry.
This is in relation to House Resolution (HR) 475 urging the House committee on energy to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on high power rates and frequent power interruptions in all serviceable areas of Ceneco, as well as calls from Negros Occidental 3rd District’s Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez.
HR 475, sponsored by Bacolod City Lone District’s Cong. Greg Gasataya, urged consumers and energy advocates to support the investigation.
He was also the author of House Bill (HB) 8827 in 2019, also known as “An Act Granting Gamboa Hermanos Farmworkers Multipurpose Cooperative (GHFMPC) a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate, own, manage, and maintain distribution systems for the conveyance of electric power to end-users in the island of Negros.”
Meanwhile, the power cooperative’s acting general manager, Ervin Stan Leo Ticar, said this is an opportunity to explain their side.
“Ang ini nga lihok sang Kongreso isa ka maayo nga pamaagi nga mapa-athag sang Ceneco ang matuod-tuod nga sitwasyon sang industriya sang kuryente nga apektado sang pagtaas presyo sang petrolyo,” he said.
On the other hand, local power advocate group Power Watch Negros (PWN) said over the weekend that it will bring its position paper to Gasataya and to the chairperson of the committee on energy at the House of Representatives.
PWN secretary-general Wennie Sancho said they have received information about the aforementioned congressional hearing.
Sancho said they have not received an invitation to attend the hearing, although they still want to forward their position paper as well as several concerns in order to get the attention of the lawmakers./PN
