Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star)
- April 16, 2018 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Electric
cooperatives (ECs) have expressed concern over a plan of the Department of
Energy (DOE) to let third-party power providers enter their franchise areas.
Philippine Rural Electric
Cooperatives Association Inc. (Philreca) president Presley de Jesus said only a
few ECs are non-performing.
“Forty eight years of rural
electrification program is a testament to our resilience and steadfast dedication
to its goal,” he said. “Thus, and with all due respect, the policy on private
sector participation in rural electrification program is based on a wrong
predicate: that there are non-performing ECs who are considered barriers to
total electrification.”
In a joint statement, Philreca and
the Philippine Federation of Electric Cooperatives (Philfeco) appealed against
widespread misconception that power coops are generally ineffective. Citing
official data, the groups said only eight percent out of the total 121 ECs in
the Philippines are considered problematic.
“And these are likewise not caused
by our perceived operational inefficiency, but due to events and situations
beyond our control like natural calamities, political strife, insurgency, and
more often than not topographic challenges,” De Jesus said.
The DOE is reviewing identified
areas for possible operations of third party electricity providers as part of
its rural electrification program.
By 2022, the agency targets 100
percent electrification with the National Electrification Administration (NEA),
National Power Corp. and distribution utilities (DUs).
The EC groups fear that a state
policy on the entry of deep-pocketed private firms in rural electrification
lays the groundwork for their cooperatives to succumb, affecting the welfare of
their stakeholders.
Philippine Association of Board of
Directors of Rural Electric Cooperatives (PABREC) president Reynaldo Lazo has
called on government to protect the ECs against private companies that have
vested interests on potentially auspicious communities.
“I am okay with the pronouncement of
the DOE, knowing it will benefit the member-consumers in areas that are not yet
electrified. Encouraging private (sector) participation is fine as long as it
does not interfere and encroach on the operations of the ECs,” he said.
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