By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
A local energy advocacy group is calling on the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to declare the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) as an “ailing cooperative” amid allegations of mismanagement and corruption.
Power Watch Negros lead convenor Wennie Sancho said the present management of Ceneco is plagued with a litany of complaints, issues and concerns that NEA should seriously consider declaring the cooperative as ailing.
Sancho pointed out among the issues is the decision on May 30 of last year, wherein six members of Ceneco’s board of directors were found guilty of “simple neglect of duty” and each was meted with a 30-day suspension.
Another issue is the issuance of a “notice of default” by KEPCO SPC Power Corporation on January 14, 2022, demanding the electric cooperative to settle its full outstanding financial obligation of P280,298,294.20, relevant to the duly executed 20-megawatt power supply contract extension agreement in May 2021.
A year later, KEPCO-SPC demanded Ceneco for the immediate return of performance security amounting to P54,538,560, including the accrued bank interests, which resulted in huge business opportunities lost on the part of the power company, Sancho said.
Ceneco blacklisted the company to pave the way for its “emergency purchase” which resulted in a disparity of prices, he added.
He pointed out the issues include House Resolution No. 475 recommending sanctions against Ceneco for allegedly violating provisions of energy laws in October 2021, wherein the electric cooperative failed to follow policy by violating the calculation of adjusted retail rates of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
In June of last year, the ERC ordered Ceneco to repay an estimated P237.9 million worth of over-recoveries charged to its consumers over a period of 14 years.
According to Sancho, in the online complaint desk for power-related concerns launched by the Bacolod City government in August of last year, 69.3 percent of the complaints were the high cost of electricity, as well as Ceneco’s unscheduled power outages, an increase in the number of day-long brownouts, and sudden power disruptions.
The lead convenor said Ceneco is in a “state of financial hemorrhage” and has a negative net worth due to financial inefficiencies, high system loss, low collection, and non-adherence to NEA and ERC policies.
“Prudence indeed will tell us that an electric cooperative long established should not be changed for light and transient causes,” Sancho said.
However, he pointed out that in the long train of incompetence, gross negligence, abuses, and usurpation evinces a design to reduce the consumers of the cooperative under absolute despotism.
“It is our duty to throw out Ceneco and replace [it] with another that seems more likely to affect the welfare, happiness, and the advancement of the consumers,” he said./DGB, WDJ