Power coops asks amendments of 12 EPIRA provisions

By Tony C. Abejo, President, Mangagawang Media Ng Mindanao

Manila---Thirty three electric cooperatives in Mindanao has lobbied members of the 15^th congress for the amendment of some 12 provisions of the controversial Electric Power Reform Act (EPIRA) as they submitted their manifesto address to Congressman Lorenzo (Erin) Tañada III, the Lower House Committee Chair on Energy early this month.

The 33 strong Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives Incorporated (AMRECO) led by President Sergio C. Dagooc submitted AMRECO’s draft of the proposed amendment of the EPIRA in house bill format last July 5, 2010 after their monthly meeting at the National Electrification Administration (NEA) Session Hall, NEA Central Office here.

The electric cooperatives sought EPIRA’s amendment after being used as an excused by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on their imposition of high electric rates which power consumers deemed unreasonable.

According to power distribution utilities EPIRA was made into law to prevent the raising of electric power rates, but the result is reversed, it failed to prevent the raising of electric power rates and instead doubling the cost of power thus affecting the economic condition of Mindanao because plants and manufacturers lost billions of pesos from power curtailment and astronomical electric power rates.

Power distribution utilities in Mindanao were shocked on the enormity of the amount imposed by NGCP when they billed electric cooperatives at the tone of P335 million for the month of February, March and April.

The resounding shocked reverberated through the island after electric cooperatives issued their March to April bills to member-consumers with the cost of ancillary services charged incorporated into the said bills.

Complaints coming from consumers for the doubling of their monthly electric bills mounted forcing electric coops to act in finding means how to prevent the power rates increase in the month of May to July 2010 because NGCP has been granted provisional authority by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to collect ancillary services charged to its Mindanao electric power consumers.

The resounding power fracas resulted with creation of the organization of power coalitions in Mindanao against power rates increased which acted together with electric cooperatives in seeking the amendment of EPIRA by lobbying members of the 15^th congress.

The electric coop sought the exclusion of the Agus and Pulangi Hydro Power complexes including steam field assets and generating pants at the geothermal complexes on the incoming privatization next year as mandated by the EPIRA law.

Iligan City and Ist District Lanao del Norte solon Vicente Belmonte had filed a bill seeking for the exclusion of the Pulangi and Agus Hydro Complexes during the 14^th congress and this had been pending bills at the House Committee on Energy, in fact, Cagayan de Oro solon Rufus B. Rudriguez and his brother, Partylist solon Maximo B. Rodriguiz Jr. have filed House Resolution No. 40 submitted on July 8, 2010 urging the Committee on Energy to conduct an inquiry on the sudden and tremendous increase of power rates imposed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the Therma Marine Incorporated (TMI) including CIPALCO, Konsumanting Cagayan and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to shed light and resolve the issue.

The 33 Mindanaoan electric cooperatives have united in seeking the amendments of EPIRA as regional electric cooperatives associations of the 6 regions in Mindanao have asked the help of their respective congressmen in their areas for the support of amending EPIRA and preventing the privatization of the Pulangi and Agus hydro Complexes including geothermal power complexes in June 2011.

AMRECO President Sergio Dagooc, NORMECA President Adrian Ebcas, NAGMEC President Resnol Torres and other regional electric cooperatives association are one in heart in opposing the privatization of hydro and geothermal power complexes in Mindanao because it will only exacerbated the power crisis in Mindanao.(with reports from PJTremedal,BNDMisOC-CIB/OCM)