Published
By Myrna M. Velasco
Government-run National
Electrification Administration (NEA) has appointed new set of board of
directors for embattled Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (ZAMCELCO), citing
the power utility’s “deteriorating financial condition” as the major ground for
such action.
The agency said the
decision to disband the previous ZAMCELCO board was decided through Resolution
No. 113 that was approved by NEA’s own board last month, invoking its
supervisory powers over the electric cooperative (EC) as prescribed under
Section 4-A of Republic Act 10531 or the NEA Charter.
NEA Deputy
Administrator for Legal Services Rossan Rosero-Lee indicated that as a remedial
measure due to ZAMCELCO’s “extraordinary state,” the agency resorted to the
formation of the Task Force Duterte-Zamboanga City Power (TFD-ZCP) to also act
as the board for the electric cooperative.
The electrification agency explained that “an election for the regular members
of the ZAMCELCO board cannot be conducted as the administrative cases are still
pending with the NEA administrative committee.”
Lee expounded that the
NEA had been vested with the authority to “appoint or assign third persons to
the Board of the EC until the NEA decides that the election of the board of
directors to manage the EC is necessary and it can create a management team for
the purpose.”
Early part of the year,
ZAMCELCO had been thrown into the spotlight following electricity service
disruptions pestering Zamboanga City residents – triggered mainly by the
dispute between power supplier Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) to the
electric cooperative and its investor-management contractor (IMC), which is the
joint venture of Crowninvestment Holdings, Inc. and Desco, Inc.
With an intervention from the Energy Regulatory Commission, the parties had
since then entered into “interim compromise agreements” so the people of Zamboanga
City could be continually served with their power needs.
Just in July this year,
WMPC and the Crown-Desco IMC sealed their second compromise deal warranting the
latter to pay additional P150 million to its Alcantara-owned power firm
supplier for ZAMCELCO.
Despite the two-time
payments to WMPC that already totaled P370 million, Crown-Desco also stood pat
on the P441-million “overbilling” that it lodged last February against power
supplier-firm WMPC. The overbillings, it said, accrued for the periods from
2015 to 2018.
WMPC previously
indicated that it demanded payments from Crown-Desco as ZAMCELCO’s
investor-manager because it will need such for procurement of fuel so it can
continually supply power to the Zamboanga electric cooperative.
Conversely in April this year, Crown-ZAMCELCO filed a motion with the ERC “for a claim for refund of its overpayments.”
Conversely in April this year, Crown-ZAMCELCO filed a motion with the ERC “for a claim for refund of its overpayments.”
The motion filed with the regulatory body similarly prayed “for its withdrawal
from and the ERC’s dismissal of the application for approval of ZAMCELCO’s
power supply agreement with WMPC.”
WMPC noted though that
it has been supplying the Zamboanga power utility with its electricity needs on
the strength of a provisionally approved PSA rendered by the ERC itself way
back in 2015.
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