Peco report belies pole fire raps

By: Francis Allan L. Angelo

In a report submitted to the Energy Regulation Commission (ERC), Iloilo power distributor Panay Electric Company (PECO) said four out of five pole fires in Iloilo happened in poles owned by telecommunications companies.

The Post Fire Comprehensive Report submitted by PECO to the ERC disproves earlier news reports that the company was involved in over 700 pole fires in Iloilo.

The power distribution company clarified that based on the report that covers the years 2017 to 2019, there were 709 post fires recorded by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Iloilo, and only 138 involve PECO’s own poles.

The firms added that the remaining 571 pole fires involve those owned by telcos.

“Regarding the 138 items attributable to PECO poles and equipment from 2017-2019, short circuits on service lines are the most common issues reported to customers which are caused by additional loads, customers allowing relatives or neighbors to attach on single service connection,” PECO Head of Public Engagement and Government Affairs Marcelo Cacho said.

He added that secondary lines/drop wires, transformer leakage, defective transformers, and busted fuse cut-outs that are caused by pilferage or illegal connections.

Other concerns originated from force majeure and bad weather conditions, flash overs, and the presence of vegetation.

The ERC started an investigation last week after receiving a complaint about purported poorly maintained distribution lines, power outages, and hazardous electric posts, listing down nine incidents of fires that hit PECO electric poles, which was based on the report of the BFP.

However, in a recent hearing with the ERC, it was classified by Fire Marshall Cristopher Regencia that the most recent incidents that happened in the boarding house adjacent to St. Paul University and Iloilo Medical Center were totally unrelated to the pole fires but were due to an electrical short circuit coming from the electric wires on the upper floor of the boarding house.

“The blackouts across the entire Panay Island, and simultaneous electric pole fires in the city, were beyond the control of PECO yet it was used to show us in a bad light by overlooking the facts and stating mere assumptions. Now, consumers are asking, is this sabotage to mask the reality that the new power distribution franchise holder is not capable of serving Iloilo because they have no distribution infrastructure in place at all,” Cacho added.

PECO is the current power distributor in Iloilo and the company’s rival is the Razon-owned MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE) which is currently aiming to expropriate PECO’s distribution assets.

MORE recently issued a statement that it allocated P1.7 billion in the next three years to upgrade Iloilo City’s electricity distribution facilities such as: system reliability projects, system loss reduction projects, system capacity projects, and safety improvement projects.

According to PECO, although MORE’s announcement sounds like a solid investment, the amount they are claiming to invest is only a third of the P7 billion that they need to build a functioning power grid and develop the infrastructure for distributing power to Iloilo.

“I’m indignant for the people of Iloilo. The coal plant shutdown and the almost-simultaneous pole fires in different areas of Iloilo that they want to attribute to us make me wonder if there’s something happening behind the scenes,” Cacho said.

“Rest assured that all concerns and complaints are properly addressed at the earliest time possible,” he added.