‘Jumpers mo, noche buena ko’

By Herbert Vego

 

IF you live in Iloilo City, sad to say you could be paying electricity consumption other than your own due to rampant power pilferage. This is because you pay 6.5 percent of stolen electricity or “system’s loss”.  Masakit, di ba?

But the good news is that you would not only save but also earn money by cooperating with your distribution utility, MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power), which has just launched its pre-Christmas promo – “Jumpers mo, noche buena ko.”

“Find anybody who steals electricity and resells it to five or more neighbors,” MORE Power President Roel Z Castro told us in a media forum the other day, “and you will earn three thousand pesos from us.”

He could not be joking because of the seriousness of power pilferage that translates into the company’s losses, too.  Like all other power distributors in this country, MORE Power does not produce but buys electricity from such producers as Panay Power Corp. (PPC), Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC), Aboitiz Power and KEPCO-Philippines.

While it’s MORE that distributes electricity bills, it gets only around 10% of the billed amount. The rest mainly goes to the power sources and the sole transmission grid, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

And so while we consumers pay a 6.5% cap for stolen electricity as regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), MORE pays whatever is in excess of that percentage. This means that for a 14% system’s loss, MORE pays a higher 7.5% to the power producers.

You see, it was only upon taking over from Panay Electric Co. (PECO) as the sole power franchisee in Iloilo City nine months ago that MORE Power found out that, aside from 65,000 legitimate customers, it had “inherited” 30,000-plus pilferers or consumers who bypass electricity meters with the use of “jumpers”.

So far, MORE Power has dismantled more than a third of these illegal connections and has filed cases against the suspects for violation of the anti-power pilferage law (Republic Act No. 7832), punishable by six or more years of imprisonment.

“If we could avoid power pilferage,” Castro enthused, “the consequential savings could be plowed back to the acquisition of new equipment and replacement of old facilities.”

It’s no peanuts getting “invited” to court for the crime of power theft. According to MORE lawyer Hector Teodosio, any respondent would have to pay a refundable cash bond of P100,000 to P200,000 for his temporary liberty.

More often than not, illegal consumers are victims themselves for having acquiesced to the offer of a syndicate engaged in reselling pilfered electricity for a “cheaper” specified monthly fee.

It’s probable that they had tried to legally connect but could not because of the impossibility of complying with 14 requirements imposed by the previous utility.

It’s easier this time with only four prerequisites, namely: a downloadable application form, a recognizable ID, proof of home occupancy certified by the barangay captain, and certificate of final inspection from the Iloilo City Hall.

An approved line applicant would only need to pay a bill deposit of P2,500, which could be paid by installment.

Back to MORE’s “Jumpers mo, noche buena ko,” you may blow the whistle until December 20 only. All you have to do is dial the cellular telephone number 0917-586-7377, report the scam and, if verified for authenticity, receive P3,000 for your family’s noche buena feast.

“Unless you want to testify in court as a witness,” Castro clarified, “your identity will remain confidential.”

But of course, the power thieves might just opt to stop their monkey business for fear of being reported and jailed.

Either you gain P3,000 or they stop “trading”  translates into a lesser power bill for everybody. Hooray!

 

-oOo-

 

CONG. JANETTE CLARIFIES ‘ARREST NEWS’

“SHOCKING” is an understatement to describe the news report alleging that a regional trial court had issued a warrant of arrest against Rep. Janette Garin (1^st Dist., Iloilo).

It could have been another attempt to mislead and condition the public mind. Actually, no warrant of arrest has been issued by any court for her failure and her co-accused to post bail.

The congresswoman stands pat on her claim that she has posted bail bonds for her pending cases before a Quezon City court.

Garin told us that the first batch of cases filed against her group over the Dengvaxia issue has been dismissed.  Only one case has not been decided yet.

We have to agree with her that the Dengvaxia vaccine has not caused the deaths of vaccinated dengue patients in the Philippines. In fact, it is still being patronized by other countries for its efficacy.

“Science has proven that the vaccine did not and could not cause deaths,” the former Health Secretary stressed. “Only in the Philippines do we believe the dramatic lawyers and fake pathologists instead of real doctors and scientists.”