Published June 20, 2018, 10:00 PM By Myrna M.
Velasco
Amid the government’s “takeover
warning” at the unelectrified domains of distribution utilities (DUs), power
utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) indicated that it will not give
up portions of its franchise area that have yet to be energized.
When asked by the media if the
utility firm will yield to the government’s wish, Meralco President Oscar S.
Reyes forthrightly stated that it’s a “no” for them, with him emphasizing that
“we will do what we can” in electrifying these areas.
The company chief executive
qualified that Meralco’s service area is now 97.8 percent complete on household
connections, and it is only the “hard to reach and unviable areas” that have
not been extended electricity service at this time.
The Department of Energy (DOE), in
particular has flagged Meralco on electrification concerns of at least two
sites within its franchise area – Isla Verde in Batangas and Cagbalete in
Quezon province. On this, the utility firm already responded positively
to the government on advancing the electrification of these jurisdictions.
For all the other DUs and electric
cooperatives that are seen responsible in denying electricity access to roughly
2.8 million Filipino households, the DOE indicated that it is seeking
Malacañang’s issuance of an Executive Order (EO) so it can break barriers and
ramp up the initiatives on extending energy service to these communities.
As an initial step, Energy Secretary
Alfonso G. Cusi noted that he already issued a Department Order that shall
underpin electrification drive for many of the country’s marginalized and
far-flung domains.
“I issued an Order to break barriers
in energizing the whole country, so from 2022, our target to total household
electrification, I lowered it to year 2020,” he stressed.
But the department acknowledged that
such may not be enough, hence, it will still be needing President Rodrigo
Duterte’s written imprimatur on the country’s household energization program.
The energy chief added that the EO
shall be a firmer measure needed for the program; and this he is eyeing to be
complemented by having ‘prospective project champions’ at local government
levels – such as the mayor and other local officials.
The energy department submitted last
April “a proposed Executive Order that will identify the different barriers,”
and such Presidential mandate must also pave the way for the “creation of a
task force and technical working groups to identify the possible solution to
these concerns.”
Nevertheless, this is a policy
proposal that has been igniting “uneasiness” among electric cooperatives, with
them stressing that this is tantamount to encroachment and will likely push
them aside “if pure corporate interests are allowed to dictate electrification
programs in un-served and under-served areas in the country.”
According to Sergio Dagooc,
president of the National Association of General Managers of Electric
Cooperatives (NAGMEC), “ECs currently enjoy exclusive electricity franchise
privileges… if the plan to allow the private sector to engage in rural
electrification pushes through, it should be under a set-up where all parties,
including end-users, shall benefit.”
He added “if there is no chance that
our policymakers would reconsider, and the plan cannot be avoided anymore, we
call for the protection from over-reach and franchise area encroachment,”
The proposal of the electric
cooperatives shall be for these corporate entities then to partner with them if
they want to provide electricity service in their franchise areas.
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