SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian said he is proposing the putting up of P750-million calamity fund for electric cooperatives so that power would be immediately restored to areas affected by disasters and calamities.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on energy, discussed this during his keynote address in the 38th Annual General Membership Meeting of Philippine Rural Electric Cooperative Association (Philreca) held at SMX Convention Center in Bacolod Thursday, August 31.
The senator, who also inducted the new set of Philreca officers, said the calamity fund is like the quick response fund of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council where all the electric cooperatives will have access to it so that they could immediately recover in case of calamities and avoid acquiring loans which will be passed on to the consumers.
“Because of the fast-growing demand for power and the problem on supply, the committee on energy is trying to look at the problems of the electric cooperatives and look for solutions. Based on our experience, we can do a lot to strengthen and improve the electric cooperatives,” Gatchalian said.
The proposal of having a calamity fund for electric cooperatives will hopefully be acceptable to the National Electrification Administration, he added.
“We want to empower the electric cooperatives and help them in case of disasters,” the senator said.
Gatchalian said he will file in the Senate the Anti-Power Line Disturbance Act that was already passed at the House committee level.
The bill seeks to prevent obstructions and illegal connections along power lines to ensure the continuous flow of electricity in households, commercial centers, and industries in the country.
It authorizes power utility companies to enter public or private properties to conduct trimming, pruning, cutting, or clearing of tall growing plants that interferes with transmission installations.
The bill also provides for the relocation of persons residing within the right-of-way corridor of electric power lines.