By
Lenie Lectura - February 4, 2019
A
recommendation by the Department of Energy (DOE) to revoke—but later on
recalled—the franchise of 17 electric cooperatives has caused significant
damage and irreparable negative impression to electric cooperatives, a
group representing them said.
“As it turned out, this
endorsement was done in haste and in the absence of due diligence on the part
of the [DOE], because just recently, the same endorsement was
recalled and revoked by Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi himself,” a
statement by the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc.
(Philreca) said over the weekend.
As confirmed by
Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella last week, the DOE recommended to
the House of Representatives through Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the
revocation of the franchise of the 17 electric cooperatives. The DOE said these
organizations had been underperforming, are in financial dire straits and
technically distressed.
Later on, Fuentebella
said the “earlier recommendation to Congress has been withdrawn two days ago,”
citing the “need to further evaluate and assess the present status and
performance of the 17 electric cooperatives.”
Philreca said the DOE
should have conducted an evaluation and assessment on the status and
performance of these cooperatives in the first place.
“While we believe that
recalling and revoking the original endorsement is the right thing to do, we
cannot help but express our sentiments because his actions have already caused
significant damage and irreparable negative impression to the” electric
cooperatives.
On the same day the
recall was announced, the DOE said it will review the cooperatives’
“compliance to the service requirements of their respective areas,” as part
of the agency’s initiatives to improve power services in the provinces by
enhancing the performance of these cooperatives.
The DOE noted many
electric cooperatives failed to carry out their mandate for various reasons.
These include inefficient management, corruption, unnecessary political
interference, as well as institutional conflicts.
Philreca noted
that the statement of the DOE and the endorsement letter to the House of
Representatives are meant “to manipulate the mindset of the public for them to
think that the electric cooperatives are not performing well.”
“And with this comes
the justification on the entry of private, for-profit and zero-experience
corporations,” the organization said.
Philreca is hoping that
Cusi would be just and fair in assessing the accomplishments and challenges of
electric cooperatives.
“We hope that the DOE
would see how the electric cooperatives have been operating in areas no private
distribution utility has dared to enter before.”
The DOE said it will
request the National Electrification Administration to submit the technical and
financial performance reports of electric cooperatives for the last five years.
In addition, the DOE
said it will ask these cooperatives to submit their road maps and strategies
for improving their services, operations and economic viability in the next
three years.
“The review will be an
inclusive process,” Cusi said. “We will ask the electric cooperatives to
identify their main challenges and work with them in determining long-term and
sustainable solutions.”
He added that the
results of the review will be made available to the public “for transparency
purposes.”
Depending on the
review’s findings, task forces may be created to assist underperforming
electric cooperatives, according to Cusi.
For nonperforming
electric cooperatives, on the other hand, the DOE may recommend the
cancellation of their franchises.
“Cusi claims that the
review will be inclusive; that the electric cooperatives will be asked about
their challenges; and that he will help us determine sustainable solutions,”
Philreca retorted. “All these claims fall short of what the secretary has been
doing for the past months.”
The group also accused
the DOE chief as having “consistently declined restoring the budget cuts to the
government’s Sitio Electrification Program.” Philreca also said Cusi “has
favored the entry of for-profit corporations in the electrification sector
versus supporting electric cooperatives who are experiencing different kind of
challenges.” The group added that Cusi “has never engaged electric cooperatives
on any dialogue or meeting with an open mind so as to come up with solutions.”
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