LOCAL consumer group Power Watch Negros Advocates has received numerous complaints from member-consumers of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) regarding the “sudden increases” in their monthly electric bills during the lockdown period.
Its secretary general Wennie Sancho said they would like to know if this is the result of erroneous meter reading by the meter readers of the power distribution utility.
“Or, had Ceneco come up with its own ‘projected estimate’ of the consumers’ monthly electric charges like what Meralco has done in Manila?” Sancho asked.
“In behalf of the member-consumers, Power Watch has the right to demand that power supply and services be conducted with reasonable efficiency and proper charges by Ceneco for purposes of transparency and accountability,” Sancho said.
As a public utility, Ceneco should explain to the member-consumers the “sudden increases” in their monthly bills, he added.
The group is also calling the attention of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bacolod City to take cognizance of the issue that had adversely affected the member-consumers.
It said most of them are financially hard up as they were jobless during the lockdown.
“How can they pay their bills? Despite the pandemic, Ceneco increased its residential rate this month by P0.5315 per kilowatt hour (kWh) making the current rate at P11.1923 per kWh,” it added.
Ceneco caters to the largest number of electric consumers in Negros Occidental including cities of Bacolod, Bago, Talisay and Silay, and towns of Murcia and Salvador Benedicto.
Ceneco OIC General Manager Jose Taniongon, in an advisory, said the increase is attributed to upward movement in the generation, transition and systems loss charges.
Taniongon said generation, transmission and systems loss charges which comprise the biggest portion of the pass-through charges increased by P0.4850 per kWh.
From P7.8359 per kWh in April, it moved up to P8.3209 per kWh this month.
“The pass-through charges equivalent to P10.0057 per kWh of the total power rate also includes the Energy Regulatory Commission-approved
adjustments, government subsidies and taxes,” he said.
Only P0.1866 per kWh of the power rate goes to Ceneco through Distribution, Supply and Metering (DSM) charges and Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable Capital Expenditures for its administrative and operational services, the official added.
For the Power Watch, the increase will compound the problem of the consumers who were already burdened with their accumulated debts that had piled up during the lockdown.
Its official said the group is open for a dialogue with the cooperative “but if they will not heed our call, we will forward the complaint to the Presidential Complaint Center”.
Sancho recalled that in the past, Ceneco was hounded by allegations of over contracting.
They must shed light on this “overcharging” allegation in order to dispel the notion that Ceneco is trying to “shortchange” the member-consumers who are presumed to be the collective owners of this electric cooperative, Sancho said.
“If we are the Member-Consumer-Owners (MCOs) of Ceneco, we deserve to know why there is overcharging in our monthly electric bills,” he added.
Power Watch is requesting that member-consumers who had similar complaints should submit copies of their electric bills to Sancho for consolidation purposes in coming up with a manifesto against this unreasonable charges imposed by the cooperative amid the pandemic.*