The proposed joint-venture agreement (JVA) of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) and MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) got the support of 20 labor groups in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.
Workers’ group leaders signed a resolution showing support for the JVA at the Negros Press Club in Bacolod on Monday, May 1.
Wennie Sancho, General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) secretary-general, said in the resolution, power consumers of Ceneco had been suffering for decades from the inconvenience due to brownouts and unscheduled power interruptions in the franchise area of the Negros-based electric cooperative.
Sancho said Ceneco failed to provide affordable, reliable and efficient power supply for its consumers in Negros.
The resolution of support was signed by Sancho; Nelson Demegillo of the Commercial Agro-Industrial Labor Organization (CAILO); Jun dela Cruz, National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) director; Joan Cristales, Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union (PACIWU) vice president; Alex Maloloy-on of the United Sugar Farmers Organization (USFO), among others.
Sancho said Ceneco, in its task, failed to rehabilitate and overhaul its most basic power facilities — the transformers, substations and power lines — that are overheating to full capacity, which resulted in huge system losses at the expense of consumers.
Meanwhile, the JVA between the two electric cooperatives will help improve Ceneco’s operations to serve the welfare of consumers.
“[We] have high expectations for this as it would harness modern technology and state-of-the-art gadgets using a geographical information system with a scheme to reconfigure the system when there are sudden and unscheduled power interruptions,” Sancho said.
He stressed that a more reliable, efficient and stable electric supply is the foundation of economic development.
“A robust power supply will attract more investors, which in turn, will create job opportunities and income that will pump the economy and strengthen the purchasing power of the workers,” Sancho said.
‘Time to improve power services’
Meanwhile, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said it is now time to improve the power services through the JVA.
He added that he’s still waiting for MORE Power to present its proposals to the city government.
This, after Panay and Negros islands experienced frequent power outages last week.
Benitez said Bacolod experienced power fluctuations while Panay residents suffered a total blackout.
“It’s an unstable power supply,” he said.
“We need to determine the root cause of the [power] fluctuation, low voltage, and blackout. We need an answer to these,” he added.
The mayor said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and Ceneco did not accept their faults.
“[The NGCP] still can’t determine if it’s their fault. They are pointing it to other electric providers,” Benitez said.
“It’s not our concern, we need answers,” he added.
The NGCP stated in their advisories that a “system disturbance affected the Visayas grid,” which caused power interruptions last week./WDJ