‘Power woes, struggles’ threaten potential investors

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

Power outages in Iloilo City and the protracted tug-of-war between two rival firms wanting to distribute electricity threaten the thriving investment reputation of the city.

In a letter to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation (ILED) sought the help of the agency by hastening its response to the complaints of consumers.

ILED, an umbrella group of business leaders and organizations and local government units, also asked the ERC to address the concerns of the business community, particularly the ongoing dispute between Panay Electric Co. (PECO) and More Electric Power and Co. (MORE Power).

“ILED, in line with its mission to promote Iloilo as a preferred investment destination, underscores the urgency for word-class electricity service for Iloilo City. It seeks for ERC to swiftly act on the complaints of the consumers and the issues of the investment community that are emanating from the ongoing stalemate between MORE and PECO as the rightful electricity service provider,” according to the letter signed by ILED Chairman Terence Uygongco and ILED President Jocelyn Perez.

According to ILED, power outages and voltage dips occurring frequently in the metro forced a number of BPO businesses to drop their plans to invest or expand in Iloilo City.

ILED also mentioned fire incidents involving PECO’s lines and electric posts.

“Power outages and voltage dips have become increasingly frequent. This has resulted in the hesitance of a number of BPO businesses to pursue entry and/or expansion plans favoring Iloilo City. We are concerned that we will lose out to other cities in the Philippines, whose investment climate is much more favorable due to the absence of a power problem such as what Iloilo City currently faces,” they added.

Recently, twin power outages hit Panay and parts of Negros on October 29 and October 30 which were attributed to technical problems.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is currently investigating the outages.

Before this, Mayor Jerry Treñas sent a letter-complaint to the ERC seeking for investigation of the series of fire incidents involving electric poles and wires of PECO.

In the first week of November, ERC deployed a team to inspect PECO’s distribution system as a response to the letter of the mayor.

After securing its congressional franchise via Republic Act No. 1121, MORE Power filed an expropriation case against PECO in an attempt to replace the latter as the sole power distributor in the metro.

MORE Power’s application for a writ of possession in relation to the expropriation case has been granted by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 37 but the case was re-raffled to RTC Branch 35 after the presiding judge inhibited from the case.

Recently, MORE Power also filed a Motion for Inhibition against RTC Branch 35 Presiding Judge Daniel Antonio Gerardo Amular.

“Given that the ERC is mandated under the EPIRA law to handle complaints and ensure promotion of consumer interests, ILED calls upon ERC to make the necessary interventions in order to fast track the resolution of the current electric power transition issues. Time is of the essence if we are to secure the momentum of the economic growth and development of Iloilo City,” ILED noted.