Published
June 27, 2017, 10:00 PM By Myrna M. Velasco
Energy Secretary
Alfonso G. Cusi has sternly instructed agencies under his charge to pursue
‘top-down approach’ when it comes to resolving the issues and concerns of
electric cooperatives (ECs) given the critical component of service that they
provide to wide base of Filipino consumers.
In particular, he
directed the National Electrification Administration (NEA) for the on-grid ECs
and the National Power Corporation (NPC) for those in the Small Power Utilities
Group (SPUG) areas “to go down to the level of the electric cooperatives and address
their issues and concerns.”
The energy chief said
he wants to end that drift wherein it is often the ECs going to the Executive
department airing their issues and concerns; instead of the concerned agencies
directly doing ‘field work’ to assess exactly what their needs are.
This was the sentiment
that Cusi had set out to the members of the Philippine Rural Electric
Cooperatives Association Inc. (PHILRECA) that called on him, stressing that “it
should be the NEA and Napocor who should approach the coops, not the other way
around.”
Cusi added “we have to
work together to make household electrification happen especially in Mindanao.”
The ECs raised several
concerns that continue to hobble their respective operations, such as:
right-of-way (ROW) issues for the delivery of electricity, primarily in the
interconnection of islands; push for tax reforms; non-privatization of the
Agus-Pulangui complexes; interconnection of the SPUG (Small Power Utilities
Group) to the main grid; and the need for one-stop shop on project permitting
and licensing.
The other issues delve
with having clearer guidelines on fund availment and allocation to ECs of
financial assistance on disaster-related concerns; clear delineation of
authority on ECs’ ROW issues; and the required provision of buffer stock of
critical materials.
Cusi had in turn
recommended to the ECs that “a vulnerability assessment be made to ascertain
those highly prone areas to disasters to mitigate effects of calamity.”
He asked the ECs to
“submit your individual disaster preparedness courses of action so we will know
how to deal with and what to do when your area is affected.”
Just recently, NEA
Administrator Edgardo Masongsong cast plans on the institutionalization of a
‘comprehensive emergency fund’ that could swiftly aid electric cooperatives on
strikes of damaging natural disasters and other catastrophic events.
This fund, he
expounded, shall be able to assist ECs and their member-consumers from relief
operations up to the time that their operations could already be brought back
to tip-top condition.
He indicated that while
he is throwing his support to the proposed P750 million ‘disaster fund’ being
sponsored by Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian, he
wishes that the coverage be made more comprehensive.’’
No comments:
Post a Comment