THE electric cooperative, Pampanga II Electric Cooperative (Pelco II), did another disservice to the residents of Mabalacat City when it made another unannounced city-wide brownout from 12:30 p.m. October 21, 2020 to 2 a.m. October 22, 2020, disrupting many essential activities of citizens.
Social media accounts reported that it had a buster transformer at its Mabiga substation but repairs to it were reportedly made only at 8 p.m. October 21, 2020, thus, prolonging the agony of Mabalaquenos who have been treated lightly through the years.
Why would not this second-class cooperative update its equipment and tools to keep up with the developments of this bustling city? Why would it employ vintage instruments when the city requires reliable service?
It has been at it for the longest time: brownouts take a minimum of five to six hours purportedly to replace old electric posts? The usual scapegoat for all of Pelco II's woes is the NGCP or the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
And the City of Mabalacat has to grin and bear the inconvenience of an incompetent power supplier. Can it not petition for a competent competitor which the city deserves?
Why would the residents of Mabalacat City suffer due to the ineptness of its power supply provider? Can they not replace it with an efficient one?
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Over at Angeles City, its power service provider is the efficient Angeles Electric Corporation, which reacts sensibly and promptly to the needs of its customers. It announces beforehand its scheduled interruptions and restores electric power promptly after a brief brownout.
Other electric service providers in other areas deliver their services efficiently, in contrast to Pelco II, which presumes its customers are okay with frequent service interruptions. No, but they are disgusted at the non-reliability of its power service provider and are, in fact, clamoring for an efficient competitor and provider. Why, the search for a good competitor had been hatching for so long in the past administration of the late Mayor Fred C. Halili. In Mayor Morales' time, no plans to put up a competitor to Pelco II had been implemented and now this plague of incompetent electric power service provider continues.
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Mabalacat City, with its growth potentials, definitely deserves a competent and efficient electric service provider and not this type of wishy-washy electric cooperative like Pelco II. It is about time a good and efficient competitor is put in place!