THE Cagayan de Oro City Council is set to summon representatives of the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company Inc. (Cepalco) to shed light on the hike on electricity rates as reflected in the electric bills.
City Council majority floor leader Ian Mark Nacaya, in a special report during Monday's regular session, said public sentiments on the power interruptions and rumors on the power hike have reached his office in the previous weeks.
"There were rumors spreading that as soon as Cepalco will be able to increase and it has increase its rates to doubling their rates of our bills, brownouts will be eliminated and so it happened," Nacaya said.
Nacaya said he could not fathom why the increase has doubled, adding that even in the previous increases it has not come to a point that a supposed P7,000 bill would be P14,000 in the next month.
He said for other households which have lesser number of equipment and facilities, the P1,000 bill has risen to more than P2,000.
The majority floor leader said the power rate increase paralleled to the skyrocketing increases of basic commodities have pained the consuming public.
Nacaya said the further increase in the power rate hurts the budget of the public especially the poor constituents.
"Tinuod gayud diay ang rumors sa social media ug sa katawhan nga kung mag-increase ang Cepalco, mabalik ug masustiner na ang kuryente sa dakbayan ug nahitabo gayud," Nacaya said.
"Kinahanglan ba gayud nga doble-doble ang increase sa power rates," Nacaya asked.
Nacaya said Cepalco should explain to the public in the next regular session the reason of the increases in which others have been paying the bills doubled from the previous months.
The matter has also been referred to the committee on energy.
"That's why I'm making this report so that we will be able to know the reason why there were increases or magpadayon nga increase sa power rate," Nacaya said.
"It's about time that the City Council should invite and ask Cepalco why it has increase to numbers nga dili kaayo matuhog," Nacaya added.