PECO mulls tougher charges vs MORE

More Electric and Power Corporation’s (MORE) disconnection of Panay Electric Company’s (PECO) main office and the threat to cut power to the households of PECO owners, the Cacho family, are both Illegal and criminal.

In a letter to MORE Power, PECO legal counsel Atty. Estrella Elamparo warned them that, “Should you or any of your representatives proceed with the removal of electric meters or disconnection of electricity without the consent of the Cacho Family, we will not hesitate to charge you with robbery, trespass to dwelling, grave coercion, and malicious mischief.”

“Immediate warrantless arrests and inquests can be done if you are caught in the act or in flagrante delicto,” she added.

Last Saturday evening, MORE severed the connection between PECO’s main office and power distribution utilities.

These facilities were the subject of a Regional Trial Court order dated March 6, 2020 directing MORE to return control of operations to PECO.

“Judge Emerald Contreras has already reiterated thrice that the Addendum to the Writ of Possession must be followed. She even issued a reiterative order to return operations to us. The disconnection is a flagrant defiance of the Court’s orders and constitutes contempt of Court,” Elamparo said.

MORE sent a letter to relay its demands to PECO stating that “unmetered” electricity usage as the basis of the disconnection and that they should re-apply for connection with MORE.

But PECO said it continues to use its own meters since it is still the only power distribution company registered with the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), meaning that it is the only entity that is officially designated to purchase power for Iloilo City.

MORE’s application with the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) is still pending, and without PECO’s power supply contracts, there will be no electricity for MORE to distribute.

This means that MORE seeks to disconnect PECO from power that the latter has, in fact, purchased.

“Since PECO is still the rightful operator of the distribution facilities, as well as the entity that to this day purchases power for the entire city of Iloilo, it is actually MORE that is stealing electricity from PECO,” said Elamparo.

Elamparo was referring to Sections 2 and 3 of Republic Act 7832, also known as the Anti-Pilferage of Electricity and Theft of Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Act of 1994.

In light of the current public health crisis, both the ERC and the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a call for solidarity on March 18 mandating all distribution utilities throughout the nation to extend payment for all bills due for the period of March 15 to April 15.

PECO explained that no disconnections should be affected within this period. Additionally, Saturday’s disconnection is in violation of the ERC’s directives to give at least two days’ notice and to refrain from disconnections on the weekend.

In response to MORE’s threat to cut power to the Cacho family’s private homes, PECO Head of Public Engagement and Government Affairs Marcelo Cacho said, “It’s ridiculous that they expect my injured 81-year-old grandmother to go out and put herself at risk. Health authorities have already sternly warned that seniors are more susceptible to infection.”

“They’ve decided to take advantage of the lockdown to harass my family and force them to violate quarantine,” he added. “Is this how they will treat consumers in a time of crisis?”

The claim that the Cacho family is also false, as they have always used PECO’s meters to read their power consumption.

“All PECO executives, even non-family members, receive a limited capped monthly supply of energy instead of cash as part of their monthly compensation,” said Cacho. “It’s part of their salary and they have to pay for any usage that exceeds the limit.”

MORE contends that it has the right to disconnect PECO’s power due to the Energy Regulatory Commission’s March 5 resolution that grants the company a Provisional Authority, despite the fact that PECO’s Motion for Reconsideration with the ERC has yet to be resolved.

Moreover, the case concerning the unconstitutionality of MORE’s takeover of PECO’s facilities, which is the sole basis of the alleged revocation of PECO’s Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), is still pending with the Supreme Court.