By Mae Singuay
Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said he supports House Bill (HB) 9310, or “An act granting the Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC) a franchise to establish, operate and maintain a power distribution system,” filed in Congress recently.
Benitez, during a press conference on Monday, October 2, said he expressed support for the bill when he first received the proposal.
“In this case, this proponent has already the investment. We know for a fact that for any service to be efficient, they need an investment to operate,” Benitez said.
“Which is why, as I have said over and over, ang deal nga ginsudlan naton with this new proponent is much better, because day one pa lang, may kwarta na. Ara na ang investment,” he added.
With that kind of investment, they could guarantee that there will be better service, the mayor said.
“Kay ang iban bala wala nagapagwa sang kwarta. Ginausar nila kwarta sang tawo, dason operate nila,” Benitez said.
He said there is certainty for the NEPC’s legal foundation as the Central Negros Electric Cooperative’s (Ceneco) franchise is about to expire, just like how MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) applied as a power distribution utility in Iloilo City.
The mayor said the city council is willing to give endorsement of the bill if required.
NEPC will be investing in the modernization of Ceneco’s distribution facilities, as the franchise will give the joint venture company the security of tenure for their operation.
That is the type of people we like, Benitez said.
“For me, it’s more of the National Electrification Administration making sure that we can move ahead with the JVA [joint venture agreement], that we have passed in order for them to start the modernization that they have promised,” he said.
The mayor said Lone District Congressman Greg Gasataya told him that he also supports the move.
HB 9310 was sponsored by Negrense Representatives Joseph Stephen Paduano, Juliet Marie de Leon-Ferrer and Francisco Benitez.
The bill — which seeks to grant NEPC the franchise to establish, operate and maintain a power distribution system and ensure continuous and uninterrupted supply — will revolutionize power distribution services in Negros Occidental cities of Silay, Talisay and Bago, as well as the municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto, and capital Bacolod.
Ceneco and Primelectric Holdings, Inc. entered into a JVA which formed the NEPC that aims to improve power distribution services in Ceneco’s franchise areas./MS, WDJ