MORE than 100 consumers trooped in front of the office of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) in Bacolod City on Tuesday, April 4, to strongly express their opposition to the proposed Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the power utility firm and MORE Electric and Power Corp.
Pete Pico, president of Negros Consumers Watch, said the protest action will commence a series of actions to express rejection of the proposed JVA.
The proposal is the privatization of distribution utility that will change the character of the utility from being a public service to being profit oriented, he said, claiming that the private company that will take over Ceneco will always ensure that profits fall into the pockets of the shareholders.
He stressed that privatization is not a cure or remedy to the problems of brownouts and other issues faced by the electric cooperatives, and neither will it lower the price of electricity.
He claimed that MORE's distribution, supply, and metering (DSM) charges of P2.32 per kilowatt-hour are almost twice as high as Ceneco’s charges of P1.18 per kilowatt-hour.
Ceneco also has the lowest residential rate for March among the three electric cooperatives in Negros Occidental at P13.67 per kWh, which is even lower than that of MORE Power, which is now at P13.72, he said.
The downward trend in Ceneco’s generation charges is expected to continue in the coming months as a result of the significant reduction of the coal price index, he added.
"We call for the National Electrification Administration to immediately look into this matter and fulfill its mandate. NEA Administrator Mariano Almeda claimed that Ceneco is not ailing (cooperative) or mismanaged. Therefore, there is no basis for this joint venture in the first place," he said.
Pico also stressed they are condemning Ceneco acting general manager Arnel Lapore, for publicly pushing for this "devious agreement" at the expense of the consumers.
The NCW also belied the insinuation that the opposition to the JVA is an action only of the supervisory and rank-and-file employees, he said.
"We, the consumers of Ceneco, are mindful of the effect of privatization and corporate takeover as we have experienced that with Bacolod City Water District," he pointed out.
He said their group will submit its position paper to the NEA, the Energy Regulatory Commission, Ceneco, and other bodies.
"We will be mobilizing the consumers through education and information campaigns on the issue of privatization and JVA. We will campaign intensively to reject the joint venture agreement in a referendum," he said.
Leonard Guilaran, president of the Responsible Supervisory and Confidential Union of Employees of Ceneco, expressed concern on the proposal, as it would be an additional burden to the consumers.
He stressed that the issues faced by Ceneco can be resolved without the JVA.
Guilaran said they will meet with the Ceneco Board on April 18.
Earlier, Mayor Alfredo Benitez said that he will support the proposed JVA on three conditions: "if they can bring down power costs, stop brownouts, and use green energy."*