Crack the whip on erring electric cooperatives and distribution utilities
October 19, 2023Crack the whip on erring electric cooperatives and distribution utilities
A nation cannot be truly progressive without stable and affordable electricity services.
Distribution utilities and electric cooperatives must be reminded that they exist, first and foremost, for the benefit of the people they serve. Failure to deliver, efficient, and reliable services, violate the essence of their mandate to the detriment of all the inhabitants, enterprises, and the economy within their jurisdictions.
In April, for example, the province of Occidental Mindoro was placed under a state of calamity because of its power crisis. Residents only had an average of four hours of electricity in off-peak hours, and none at all during working hours.
What economic activity, meaningful education, and productive work could be done in this situation?
CitizenWatch Philippines urges government regulators and policy makers to listen to the clamor of several local government units that have been demanding better service from the distribution utilities in their respective areas.
Leaders representing residents, entire communities, and business establishments have taken steps to amplify their demands. For example, some mayors from Laguna have appealed to the House of Representatives against granting a new legislative franchise to First Laguna Electric Cooperative (FLECO). Their residents have been subjected to high power rates and poor services, the leaders said.
Meanwhile, residents of Nasugbu, Batangas are saying that frequent power outages are damaging their appliances and other equipment. In fact, there has been a petition from the town’s local officials to source their power needs from Meralco as well, since the company has supplied Metro Manila and nearby provinces with electricity. Some businesses in Batangas have also sued BATELEC 1 for hampering their business operations.
Likewise, in Pampanga, six mayors have sought the help of the Energy Regulatory Commission to resolve the high power rates of the Pampanga Electric Cooperative 3.
In this technology-driven era, to be without adequate, affordable power is to be powerless to meet economic challenges and optimize opportunities for a better life.
CitizenWatch supports the petitions of these LGUs in demanding action to rectify their ongoing power crisis and assert their right to engage the most qualified DU that can deliver the demands of their growing local economies. Being in the power distribution business entails commitment, conscientiousness, and concern for the people they serve.