• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Senator Grace Poe endorsed on Monday (April 29) the granting of franchise to the Negros Electric Power Corp. (NEPC) to maintain an electric power distribution in key localities of Negros Occidental.
The endorsement was made by Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, to grant legislative franchises to power distribution utilities in Negros Occidental, Leyte and Romblon, during the Senate plenary session.
“There’s no more fitting time than today to present three measures that will ensure our power consumers’ continued access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy, lalong-lalo na sa gitna ng malawakang at dumadalas na brownout at power interruptions iba’t ibang parte ng bansa (in the midst of widespread and frequent brownout and power interruptions in different areas of the country),” Poe said.
House Bill 9805 seeks to grant NEPC a 25-year franchise to distribute electricity in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
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.
Should NEPC’s franchise be fully approved by Congress, NEPC president Roel Castro said it will provide relief to Negros residents from Central Negros Electric Cooperative’s (Ceneco) service problems, which highlights the critical need for better electric services in the area.
Ceneco has entered into a joint venture agreement with Primelectric Holdings Inc./NEPC.
In the proposed arrangement, Ceneco will maintain a 30 percent ownership stake in the new business, while Primelectric/NEPC will acquire 70 percent of its assets.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez earlier issued an appeal to Poe to fast track the passage of the franchise, being sought by NEPC, in the wake of the spate of power outages that hit Bacolod City and its neighboring local government units.
Benitez said he believes that the granting of the franchise to NEPC “will give way to massive rehabilitation of power distribution facilities,” currently handled by Ceneco.
“The frequent power outages in the Ceneco franchise area is caused by the outdated equipment that needs to be replaced, and affected by the intensifying summer heat,” he added. | GB
