‘Remove strict requirements’ to power up all households

BACOLOD City – The Department of Energy (DOE) must “remove stringent requirements” so that all households in the country would be energized, according to the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco).

Ceneco general manager Sulpicio Lagarde Jr. said this in response to DOE secretary Alfonso Cusi’s directive, asking all electric cooperatives in the country to propose ways toeffectivelyimplement the agency’s Energization Program.

The program aims to “light up” all households in the Philippines by 2020.

Ceneco supplies power to the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, and Bago and towns of Murcia and Salvador Benedicto in Negros Occidental.

Lagarde said in the areas they cover, there are about 20,000 households that are not still energized.

Most of these households are located in remote areas. Some are that of informal settlers living in high-risk areas like waterways, Lagarde added.

Informal settlers have issues on “ownership and right of way,” the Ceneco official said. For them to be an electric cooperative member, they must first secure a certificate from the owner of the lot they are occupying.

Court disputes over private lot properties lengthen the issuance of this certificate, Lagarde said. For public lot properties, some informal settlers are not granted with the certificate right away due to politicking, he added.

Lagarde said Ceneco and other electric cooperatives suggested that households with property disputes must be energized while the hearing of their cases is ongoing.

Only after the court issues its verdict is the time when the losing party must be directed to leave the property, Lagarde added./PN

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