Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star)
- October 5, 2018 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Department
of Energy (DOE) sees the need to review the franchise of power distributors as
part of efforts to speed up the country’s electrification.
Power distributors are granted a
franchise to power up their areas and if they are not able to deliver what is
required of their franchise, then maybe it should be given to other entities
which can do it, said Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
“We cannot let Filipinos wait
forever. There are efficient and inefficient cooperatives. Are we going to
allow Filipinos to suffer because of inefficient cooperatives? I don’t think
that is right,” he said.
The energy chief said this is not an
attack on electric cooperatives but a reminder to do their job and
energize their respective franchise areas.
“I am not against
cooperatives. I am against poor performance, there are good coops, good
performers, but for those that are not performing, wake up and do your job
because people cannot wait in the dark,” Cusi said.
When asked about the controversial
Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp., Cusi called the company a “positive disruptive
development.”
Solar Para Sa Bayan has applied for
a franchise to more efficiently extend its services to other parts of the
Philippines that want alternative choices for electric service with an aim to
help DOE achieve its goal of 100 percent electrification and affordable,
reliable electricity for all Filipinos by 2022.
However, last week, the House of
Representatives shelved plenary action on House Bill 8179 which seeks to grant
Solar Para Sa Bayan with a nationwide franchise.
“I want this to make this
clear. The Solar Para sa Bayan [franchise] is a positive disruptive
activity. But on the legality of the franchise, how they are going to
make it legal, I will leave it to the legislative. I will focus on the executive
side, and I want all areas to be energized and implemented in accordance to
what the law says,” he added.
Meanwhile, Congress should set a
baseline on the total electrification of the country as more and more
households are added.
Congress has the discretion to review
the franchise of ECs but it should determine a baseline to meet the
electrification of the whole country, National Electrification Administration
(NEA) administrator Edgardo Masongsong said.
This is in reaction to the plan of
the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) to review the franchises of all
distribution utilities (DUs), particularly of ailing electric cooperatives
(ECs), to determine whether there is need to revamp the existing operators of
the franchise areas.
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