Congress renews PECO franchise

MERRY-GO-ROUND

By FLORO L. MERCENE

The House of Representatives needs to decide soon how to have a viable power distribution facility with the proper infrastructures like transmission lines, transformers, and power grid. Otherwise, Iloilo City and neighboring municipalities will go back to the Dark Ages for at least 10 years.

At stake is the renewal of the franchise of Panay Electric Co. Inc. (PECO), that is due to expire in January, 2019.

Paranaque Rep. Gus Tambunting filed House Bill 8132, at the instance of More Minerals Corporation, contesting PECO’s bid to renew its license.

House Bill 6023 filed by Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo  is seeking to renew PECO’s franchise.

Since the New Year is just around the corner, I don’t see why our lawmakers would hedge on PECO’s petition.

The Lower House will have a lot of explaining if they disenfranchised PECO. It has been powering houses, commercial buildings, and industries in Iloilo City and surrounding communities for nearly a century now.

PECO has the track record, the technical expertise, adequate manpower, sufficient equipment, and stable infrastructure mustered through 98 years of quality service.

PECO is a homegrown utility whose sound management was passed on, from generation to generation of the Cacho clan into a multibillion-peso enterprise that it is today.

Allowing PECO’s uninterrupted operations would mean continuing power supply for Iloilo City and their franchise area. Disallowing it would mean blackouts for several years pending completion of an entirely new utility.

It would also threaten the jobs of tens of thousands of PECO field men and office workers, and economic dislocation for their families, if the company’s franchise is not renewed.

In a letter to Rep. Franz Josef Alvarez, chairman of the Committee on Legislative Franchises, they cited reasons why PECO’s franchise should be renewed. The workers invoked the “prior operator rule,” essentially protecting the interest of existing franchise holders.

“PECO as an operator under a prior license, who complies with its terms and conditions, and meets the reasonable demands of the public. It must be protected rather than be destroyed by the granting of the second license to another person,” the letter said.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/10/02/congress-renews-peco-franchise/