NEPC franchise seen to bolster Negros economy

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – A consumer group here said that the looming issuance of a franchise to Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC) could bolster the economy of this city and Negros Occidental.

This was the reaction of Power Watch Negros to the approval on second reading of NEPC’s franchise at the House of Representatives.

Power Watch Negros Secretary-General Wennie Sancho on Wednesday said he “is optimistic that this up-and-coming development will likewise advance the welfare of the electricity consumers in the franchise area of Ceneco, now NEPC, and to meet the needs of reliable power to fuel our growing economy and population.”

NEPC applied for the franchise with the primary objective to ensure the continuous and uninterrupted supply of electricity to serve the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay and Bago, and the municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto in the province of Negros Occidental for 25 years.

It aims to meet the energy needs of the residents and contribute to the development and progress which is a significant step towards promoting economic growth and enhancing the overall quality of electric distribution in the franchise area of NEPC.

Sancho noted that in the September 2020 report of the Center for Energy and Ecology (CEED), more Ceneco customers are in Negros Occidental province, making up around 70% of the total customer connection.

As for power use, approximately half of the island’s electricity is used by Ceneco customers and only a quarter is used by Negros Oriental customers.

Ceneco services approximately 1,068,948 people, around a third of Negros Occidental’s population and approximately a quarter of the entire Negros Island.

“Power Watch is confident that with the granting of the NEPC franchise by Congress it will provide a sufficient and constant supply of electricity which is indispensable for the economic development in the franchise area of NEPC and the province of Negros Occidental beginning with the production sector, including transportation and the service sector, all the way down to the household electricity consumers. Electricity demand is expected to grow in the near future. The approval of the NEPC franchise and the implementation of the JVA will reduce power outages and the NGCP is less likely to raise red or yellow alerts due to sufficient power supply and ancillary services,” he added.

On Tuesday, the Committee on Legislative Franchises presented Committee Report No. 936 on House Bill No. 9805, which was eventually passed on second reading.

This bill aims to grant NEPC a franchise to establish, operate, and maintain an electric power distribution system for commercial purposes and in the public interest.

The franchise is specifically intended to serve the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, and Bago, as well as the municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto in the province of Negros Occidental for 25 years.

Rep. Gus S. Tambunting, chair of the Legislative and Franchises Committee, emphasized that Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) will still own 30 percent of NEPC and all of its debts and financial obligations will be settled through a Joint Venture Agreement.

What will happen to Ceneco employees?

Tambunting assured that the employees will be taken care of and their retirement and separation benefits will be paid in accordance with their Collective Bargaining Agreements.

The bill will have to hurdle the third and final reading in the House plenary before it is finally passed.