SANLAKAS-Negros mulls filing case against CENECO

The Negros Chapter of multi-sectoral group Sanlakas disclosed Tuesday that they are planning to file a complaint against the Central Negros Electric Cooperative-Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (CENECO-TPBAC) for alleged gross negligence and incompetence in connection with their insistence to immediately proceed in purchasing electricity from coal plants.

“We don’t know why the TPBAC (Third Party Bids and Awards Committee) of CENECO seems to be rushing to sign a new contract without taking into consideration the effects of their decisions to electric consumers especially now that there is on-going pandemic. In fact, various groups are insisting that the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) must be done with better terms,” Sanlakas-Negros Coordinator Jun Año said.

Año explained that they are also demanding that the CENECO-TPBAC conduct a CSP based on their new Power Supply Procurement Plan (PSPP) to ensure that the economic effects of the pandemic will be taken into consideration.

“We can’t lock-in our consumers to paying for electricity that is not needed since they are using old data that is pre-pandemic. We all know that the economic effects of the pandemic reduced the demand for power especially from commercial and industrial users. This means we will have to pay for higher electricity bills if they will proceed in their plans. Worse, they are also shackling Negrosanons to coal energy, contrary to our objective of our island being declared 100% free of dirty energy sources,” he added.

Año also said that they are currently reviewing several documents, and consulting with various experts to ensure that their complaint against CENECO-TPBAC is “a strong case that will put an end to fossil fuels in Negros.”