ERC probes PECO ‘sabotage’

The CPCN requires a power utility to ensure public safety and efficient supply service.

PANAY Electric Company’s office in Iloilo City is deluged with complaints for poor service. It is now subject of a government probe for “deliberate sabotage.”

Malacañang has tasked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to conduct a probe on Panay Electric Co. (PECO) over claims of “deliberate sabotage.”

Acting on a letter of complaint by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, the Palace last week directed the ERC to look into More Electric and Power Corp.’s (MEPC) allegations that PECO “inadequately-maintained lines, intentional power outages and hazardous electric posts.”

The quasi-judicial body then held a hearing prior to the long holiday break to hear the Bureau of Fire Protection’s report on the alleged safety violation incidents involving PECO, which MEPC claimed was the root of the numerous pole fires and prolonged power outages recently experienced in Iloilo City.

MEPC also alleged that the incidents could be PECO’s way of intentionally sabotaging the law-mandated transition of electricity distribution from PECO to MEPC after Congress turned down the renewal of the former’s franchise earlier this year.

In his letter to the Office of the President (OP), Treñas had asked for intervention and for the Palace to instruct the ERC to take action on the mounting complaints of consumers against PECO.

Among these are the nine incidents of fire that hit PECO’s power poles from 19 to 21 October alone as stated in the BFP’s report to City Hall.

The ERC, as mandated by Republic Act (RA) 91369, or the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), has disciplinary powers to address the numerous consumer complaints against PECO.

According to Treñas, he was “obliged to take the necessary steps to address the needs of the people considering that the problems and complaints raised against PECO have direct impact not only on the properties but to the lives of the residents of Iloilo City.”

“While the attention of PECO had been repeatedly called (by the Office of the City Mayor) to address the (complaints), the city is still plagued by the same problems,” Treñas noted.

The ERC’s investigation on PECO’s supposed safety standard violations coincided with another probe being conducted by the Department of Energy into the twin power blackouts that hit the entire Panay Island and parts of Negros Island from Monday to Wednesday last week.

These included a separate complaint that PECO did not restore full capacity to the entire city until the evening of 30 October despite the full restoration of supply from the national electricity grid earlier in the day.

MEPC expressed concerns that the electric pole fires and the prolonged power outages could be part of PECO’s effort to sabotage full transition to MEPC’s takeover of the city’s electricity distribution service.

“To ensure a smooth transition to MEPC’s takeover of the distribution system, MEPC’s franchise law — Republic Act (RA) 1212 — allowed to give PECO a temporary Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) because only companies with congressional franchise could operate any public service business under the 1987 Constitution,” Roel Castro, MEPC president, pointed out.

“The CPCN requires a power utility to ensure public safety and efficient supply service to the public,” he said.

Congress did not renew PECO’s franchise when it expired last 19 January over the deluge of complaints from its customers against its inadequate response to their problems, especially safety concerns from its ageing distribution system like leaning electric poles, spaghetti-hung electricity lines, over-billing that raised bills by as much as 1,000 percent and unfriendly and unprofessional consumer complaint personnel.

Just two weeks ago, the Court of Appeals (CA) junked PECO’s motion to stop the expropriation of its ageing electricity distribution assets in Iloilo City by MEPC.

The Appellate Court’s 18th Division based in Cebu ruled to deny PECO’s petitions for a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction against the Iloilo City Regional Trial Court which ordered the expropriation of PECO’s distribution assets by MEPC.

Part of the CA’s ruling stated that it did not find justification to PECO’s claim that expropriation of its distribution assets will plunge Iloilo City into blackouts because MEPC guaranteed full service through expropriation of PECO’s distribution assets as the new distribution utility (DU) franchise holder.

It also noted that Congress granted MEPC the DU franchise under RA 11212 as part of its powers under Sections 22 and 27 of RA 91369 which provides the legal framework for the restructuring of the electric power industry.

Also, the CA reiterated that under RA 9136, only the Supreme Court can stop the implementation of any portion of EPIRA which includes the power of eminent domain by DU in their franchise areas.