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Friday, March 29, 2024

10-minute power failure mars Iloilo energy meet

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A 10-minute power interruption last March 22 marred the Iloilo Renewable Energy Summit, an event organized in part by the Murang Kuryente Party-list, hosted by the Archdiocese of Jaro, and held at the Archbishop’s Residence.

The event counted representatives from the Department of Energy, energy companies MORE and WeGen, civil society, as well as consumers and community members from Iloilo.

“Even in an event attended by power distributors, we are not spared the power interruption. This just goes to show how broken the electrical system is in Iloilo and the rest of the country, despite us paying sky-high rates to electric companies,” said Gerry Arances, Murang Kuryente Party-list nominee and a speaker at the summit.

Iloilo currently has one of the highest power rates in the Philippines, a country whose power rates rank second to Japan in Asia, despite the poor and unreliable electrical system.

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The summit was called due to the problems besetting the power sector in Western Visayas, particularly in Iloilo City.

WV Hidlawanay Cooperative vice chairman Wilfredo Ortiz, speaking on behalf of consumers, said, “There has always been tension between electric cooperatives and member-consumers here in Iloilo. The lack of sincerity in consulting member-consumers in rate adjustments and other important processes have been largely unfavorable to us.”

Ortiz cited in particular the proposal of PHILRECA, a consortium of electric cooperatives across the country, to pass on to consumers the real property tax of electric cooperatives, as one of the sources of this tension.

“PHILRECA’s proposal to the ERC shows that there is a divide between the interest of the EC and ours as consumers,” said Ortiz. 

“If ECs are really controlled and managed by the member-consumers as was intended by law, they would work towards lessening the cost borne for by consumers,” added Ortiz.

Arances, explaining the role played by Murang Kuryente in the event, said, “The primary consideration, always, is the consumer. They need electricity, but they must never be held hostage by vested interests due to this need.”

Murang Kuryente Partylist, consisting of energy advocates with a long history of defending consumer interests, has consistently challenged attempts by distribution utilities and electric companies in raising prices and lowering standards of service.

Arances said “Murang Kuryente Partylist is here because this event is a model of how we can ensure affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all Filipinos – stakeholders working together to develop solutions favorable to all.”

He added “Murang Kuryente is ready to do whatever is necessary to force power companies to do what they are supposed to do – provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy to the public. We are willing to talk to them in a forum like this, or we can bring the fight for consumers to other arenas.”

Murang Kuryente Partylist and other groups intervened in PHILRECA’s proposal and caused the ERC to suspend the hearing after it was pointed out that the proposal of PHILRECA constituted a rate hike and must be treated as such.

The partylist also scored the suspicious timing of MERALCO’s maintenance schedules, its rate adjustments, and the power companies’ consistent refusal to release the refund its consumers are entitled to as decided by the Supreme Court.

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