Saturday, May 24, 2008 Veco, other firms ‘need to explain’ systems losses By Elias O. Baquero Sun.Star Staff Reporter
SENATE President Manuel Villar said owners and officials of other power distribution companies in the country may be summoned to explain why they are collecting more than the actual consumption of their clients.
Villar said they have to look into the power industry as a whole to avoid speculations that the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is being singled out in the Senate investigation on high power rates.
By looking into the collections made by the distribution companies, Villar said they will be addressing the concerns of consumers in the provinces, where power rates are also high.
In Cebu, the power distributors are Visayan Electric Co. (Veco), Mactan Electric Co. (Meco), Cebu Electric Cooperative (Cebeco) and the Bantayan Electric Cooperative (Banelco).
Villar said he will coordinate with Sen. Miriam Santiago, the chairperson of the Senate Energy Committee which is investigating Meralco, National Power Corp. and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the high cost of electricity.
The investigation was conducted after Government Service and Insurance System (GSIS) President and General Manager Winston Garcia questioned the exorbitant fees collected by Meralco.
While Meralco is controlled by the Lopez family, the Lopezes only have 31 percent in shares while GSIS has 35 percent.
Villar said that power distribution companies should stop passing on to their consumers the additional fees for systems losses and tax refund, among others.
Because of the extra fees that appear in the electricity bill, a consumer who used only P1,000 worth of electricity ends up paying at least P2,000.
When sought for comment, Veco spokesperson Ethel Natera said that they cannot collect anything from the power
consumers without seeking the approval of the ERC.
She refused to comment further on the matter, as only Cholo Bernad of Aboitiz Power Corp. is authorized to discuss it with the media. Bernad was out of town when Sun.Star Cebu called his office yesterday.
ERC Chairman Rodulfo Albano explained last week that the fees collected by power utility companies were authorized by the commission.
Albano said the authority was based on the Energy Power Industrial Reform Act (Epira) approved by both houses of Congress.
“Ngunit ang intindi ko diyan, kapag sinabing puwede, hindi naman nangangahulogang dapat ibigay mo (But from what I understand, if the law says that it is possible, it does not necessarily mean that you should pay for it),” Villar said.
He added that any abuse of the law should be immediately stopped.
For his part, Rep. Pablo John Garcia (Cebu, 3rd district) said that all power distribution companies in the country should be subjected to the same scrutiny that Meralco is getting from the Senate energy committee.
Garcia said it is unfair for the consumers to be made to pay any amount that is not part of their power consumption.
The fees on systems losses, which are reflected on the electricity bill, should be explained well to the public, including its components and the amount, Garcia added.
