By:
Ronnel W. Domingo - 04:34 AM November 16, 2019
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Friday clarified that investigation
on the series of pole fires in the franchise area of Panay Electric Co. (Peco)
was still ongoing although being fast-tracked and there were no conclusions
yet.
ERC Chair Agnes
Devanadera said in a statement the regulator had completed its field inspection
and data gathering and that concerned parties, including Peco, had been
summoned to shed light on these incidents.
On Thursday, Peco representatives
said in a media briefing the power distributor had submitted a report to the
ERC showing that not all of the 709 pole fires that the Bureau of Fire
Protection recoded over the past two years involved Peco’s electric poles.
According to Peco, some
of the poles were owned by local telecommunications companies.
Peco reiterated its
suspicion that the fires were part of efforts to sabotage the company’s
operations. The utility is locked in a legal battle with the Razon group’s More
Electric and Power Corp., which intends to take over Peco’s business through a
newly secured congressional franchise.
“The findings of the
technical team will be presented to the Commission Monday and released to the
public accordingly,” Devanadera said.
“The ERC has no participation, in any manner, in the said press conference
[conducted by Peco on Nov. 4],” she added.
Devanadera said the ERC
remained independent in the discharge of its functions, including the conduct
of investigations.
“Premature reporting of
the outcome of our investigation is but a product of speculation that serves no
purpose, except to confuse the public,” she said.
The ERC chief said an
inspection team was sent to Panay in the first week of November in response to
the letter-complaint filed by Mayor Geronimo Treñas of Iloilo City.
The regulator also
directed Peco to submit a written comprehensive report to shed light on the
pole fire incidents. The report was submitted on Thursday and Devanadera said
this was now being reviewed together with the Commission’s findings from the
field.
“It would be prudent for the Commission to
evaluate and analyze the situation surrounding the reported pole fire incidents
in Peco’s franchise area wholistically and not on a per incident or asset
basis,” she said.
“The way that the poles
are maintained over the years and the remaining useful life of the poles also
needs to be looked into,” she added.
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