CENTRAL Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) General Manager Suplicio Lagarde yesterday insisted that they have a final order from Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to implement the collection of P232-million worth of additional charges.
"It was a valid order from ERC that is why we are implementing it," Lagarde said.
He said on April 10, 2018, the Ceneco Board of Directors passed a Resolution No. 12068 to effect payment of the first 50 equal payments until the amount of P232 million is fully paid to the ERC Case No. 2013-141RC effective April 2018 Ceneco billing and remit the same effective May 25, 2018.
The Social Action Center (SAC) of the Diocese of Bacolod had earlier urged the officials of Ceneco to stop the implementation of the P0.0817 per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) additional monthly charges to power consumers.
Fr. Chris Gonzales, head of SAC, said that they still have a pending motion for reconsideration (MR) filed before the Office of ERC on its ruling related to the supplemental agreement between Kepco-SPC Power Corporation (KSPC) and Ceneco.
He said Ceneco started collecting the additional charges from the month of April in spite of their pending MR.
On February 12, 2018, ERC chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Agnes Devanadera replied to Lagarde's query that the decisions of the commission in any application filed before it is effective pending the resolution of any motion for reconsideration, unless otherwise ordered by the Commission Section 3, Rule 23 of the ERC's Rules of Practice and Procedure pertinently provides that the filling of an MR shall stop the running of the 15-day period in Section 5 of Rule 22 and prevent the final order, resolution or decision of the commission from becoming final and inappealable.
"It is clear therefore from the foregoing that the decision rendered by the commission takes effect upon the date specified therein or upon the lapse of the 15-day period from receipt of the copy thereof where no MR has been filed. In the instant case, the commission has not issued any order preventing the subject decision from becoming effective pending the resolution of the MR filed by Sac and Romeo Lavilla," Devanadera said.
Gonzales said this is only an opinion of Devanadera and not a final order of the ERC, so why they need to implement it now.
Lagarde also countered that they will continue to collect the additional charges because they have the final order from the ERC.
"For us, it was a final order of the ERC," he said.
Meanwhile, Ceneco will hold its Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA) on July 1 at the Bacolod Tay Tung with the representatives from the National Electrification Administration (NEA).
Roel Venus, chief of Member-Consumers Integrated Services Division, said more topics will be discussed such as the referendum on the conversion of Ceneco.
"Through the AGMA, the member-consumer will decide if they want the electric cooperative to be under the Cooperative Development Authority, be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or to remain under the NEA," he said.
He added the sub-offices of Ceneco will also conduct their own AGMA within their respective districts.
