Illegal power connections mean ‘millions’ in losses

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

Illegal power connections or commonly known as “jumpers” do not only overload power lines and feeders that cause brownouts and fires.

These also result in millions of pesos in losses on the part of legitimate consumers who religiously pay their monthly bills.

This was the statement of MORE Power president Roel Castro in a recent meeting with the officers of the Iloilo City Division of Federated Teachers Association (DFPTA).

Castro was the guest of the DFTA meeting which tackled the current power situation in the city. The group also asked the firm how they can help the new power distributor and the city government in its crackdown on jumpers in their communities.

“Apparently so many are taking advantage with this modus operandi which have proliferated in the city of Iloilo for decades but your understanding of what we are doing to address this problem is very significant to our campaign to finally rid our city with electric pilferers,” Castro said.

MORE Power estimates that there are approximately 30,000 illegal connections in Iloilo City, or around 28 percent of the total connections.

The cost of stolen electricity is shouldered by legitimate consumers under the so-called systems loss. The law provides that a distribution utility can pass on up to 6.5 to 7.5 percent of the total systems loss of the consumers.

Republic Act 7832 (Anti-Pilferage Law) punishes illegal connections with imprisonment of up to 12 years and/or a fine of up to P20,000.

“We are committed to finally put a stop to this modus in fairness to legitimate power consumers of Iloilo City who have been subsidizing this systems loss since time immemorial. We must put an end to this and it must end now,” Castro said.

MORE Power said that when it began its crackdown on power pilferers, it was able to eliminate 1,090 jumpers since June 2020.

Castro said the problem on “jumpers” can also be attributed to the stringent processes imposed by the former distributor.

“Many jumpers applied to be owners in the past. But they were ignored for years forcing them to steal. As we continue our efforts to eliminate the deeply rooted problems of Iloilo City’s electrical distribution system, we have established a way for them to apply easily this time around,” he added.

Castro was referring to the iKONEK Program that was launched in partnership with the city government of Iloilo to encourage Ilonggos to secure their own regular power accounts with MORE Power.

The program establishes a one-stop-shop to process the application for regular power connections.