Cusi assures electric co-ops of due process in performance audit

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Wednesday assured due process for electric cooperatives in their performance review, but warned that those in “dire cases” should face the consequences.

Cusi, in a statement, assured electric cooperatives of the objectivity of the Department of Energy’s performance review, which seeks to identify the problems besetting troubled cooperatives. 

“There will be due process for all ECs. Our priority is to address the root causes of their problems and help in their rehabilitation, so they may provide the quality of services consumers in their franchise areas truly deserve,” he said. 

Cusi warned that for electric cooperatives found to be extremely in dire cases, the government could no longer ignore the negative impact on citizens. 

He said other reasonable and legal options, as provided for under Republic Act No. 10531 or the National Electrification Administration Law, should be considered. 

Cusi said 17 ECs had been chronically failing to provide satisfactory services required by their electric distribution franchise. 

These included Davao del Norte Electric Cooperatives, Albay Electric Cooperatives, Basilan Electric Cooperative, Camarines Sur III Electric Cooperative, First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Masbate Electric Cooperative, Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative,  Oriental Mindoro Cooperative, Palawan Electric Cooperative, Pampanga Electric Cooperative, Sulu Electric Cooperative and Zamboanga Electric Cooperative. Alena Mae S. Flores

The energy chief said that residents of these areas were complaining of persistent and unresolved power outages caused by some electric cooperatives’ heavy debts and failure to pay for their power supply for several years.

President Rodrigo Duterte also publicly expressed his dissatisfaction over the poor electric services in Palawan and Masbate. 

“We trust that ECs in these problem areas will cooperate with the DoE’s constructive efforts to get to the heart of their long-running problems. We will work with the ECs in creating and implementing viable solutions for the benefit of their consumers,” Cusi said.

The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc., a group of 121 electric cooperatives, earlier asked Cusi to be fair in addressing the plight of members nationwide.

“While we are fully aware of the secretary’s preconceived notion of inefficient management, corruption, unnecessary political interference, as well as institutional conflicts among ECs, based on his earlier pronouncements, we still hope and expect him to be just and fair in assessing our accomplishments and challenges at the same time,” the group said.

“We hope that the DoE would see how the electric cooperatives have been operating in areas no private distribution utility has dared to enter before,” Philreca said.

Cusi endorsed to the House of Representatives through Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the revocation of the franchise of 17 electric cooperatives, saying these ECs were “underperforming and financially and technically distressed.”