Consumer group slams Ceneco

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – Power Watch Negros Secretary General Wennie Sancho on Tuesday slammed the management and the board of directors of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) for failing to explain the surge in monthly bills of member-consumers during the community lockdown.

Sancho said that hundreds of consumers were stunned with the continued increase in their monthly electric bills.

After the public hearing conducted recently by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City,

CENECO was still unable to come up with a concrete measure except its promise to conduct actual meter reading for those who have filed their complaints, he added.

“It would seem to appear that our electric cooperative is ‘uncooperative’ when issues such as power overcontracting, the controversial systems loss charges, among others, are hurled against them,” Sancho said.

He further said that Power Watch is challenging the CENECO Board to explain their stand on this issue as they are supposed to represent the interests of the consumers.

“But why are they silent? They should be held accountable for their negligence and inefficiency in gross disregard of their sworn duty to protect the rights and welfare of the consumers,” Sancho said.

Power Watch tried to have a dialogue with CENECO to discuss relevant issues in behalf of the consumers but to no avail.

“For us, this indifference on the part of this electric cooperative is part of their measure to ignore the principle of transparency,” Sancho lamented.

CENECO could not be reached for comment as of press time.