MAYOR BENG CLIMACO has urged the new members of the board of directors of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (ZAMCELCO) to “represent the true voice of the people” and asked them to conduct a thorough review of all existing contracts entered into by the cooperative with power producers.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has appointed seven Zamboangueños to the board of directors following mounting public clamor and Climaco personal appeals with President Rodrigo Duterte after the Crown Investments Holdings, Inc. and Desco Inc. took over ZAMCELCO in January this year after bailing out the heavily-indebted and poorly-managed electric cooperative for P2.5 billion.
The new members of the board of directors led by JV Faustino recently met with Climaco at City Hall and discussed the problems affecting the operation of ZAMCELCO.
While Climaco lauded NEA for appointing Zamboangueños to sit in the board of directors, she expressed optimism “that they will protect the interest of the member-consumers.” “Como syempre ta dale quita canila el esperanza y el confianza que sila pwede resolve el maga problema del ZAMCELCO,” she said.
Climaco also recalled that Duterte personally called to inform her of his commitment to help resolve the power crisis in Zamboanga. She said Duterte’s call paved the way for her meeting with Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi in Manila where measures to end the persisting power interruptions and fluctuations were tackled.
She asked Faustino’s group to “review all existing contracts the power utility firm has entered into during the past and previous managements.” The review on all ZAMCELCO’s contracts is necessary to ensure the cooperative’s operation is effective and responsive to the needs of its member-consumers and “making sure that it is financially viable and technically capable.”
Climaco said new members of the board of directors replaced the five-man “Task Force Duterte,” who were not from Zamboanga, but tasked by NEA to oversee the operation of the ZAMCELCO after it suspended all the previous members of the board of directors for various reasons.
The meeting of Faustino’s group – among them Jaydrick Yap, Steven Wee, John Ebrahim and Violy Alejandro – came after NEA named them to the board.
“This is a welcome development because we really want that anyone, who sits in the Board, helps the consumers of Zamboanga on how we will be able to attain a 24-hour electricity that is stable and without voltage fluctuations, and affordable,” Climaco said.
The board of directors had their first meeting last week, but details of this were not made public. But Faustino, in an exchange of messages with lawyer Wendell Sotto on social media, said: “I experienced a painful realization during our first board meeting. Let’s set a meeting this coming week so we can explain to you the true situation of the coop now, and what is being done by the non- Zamboangueños to help save ZAMCELCO which was put to the ground by our fellow Zamboangueños.”
Power Generators
Sotto is an advocate of good governance and the only Zamboangueño who questioned ZAMCELCO’s issues with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
He also accused Amador Guevarra, ZAMCELCO’s general manager, of evading questions on the operation of diesel-powered generator sets which Sotto claimed was illegal. “ZAMCELCO has been illegally operating diesel generator sets all over Zamboanga City. Worse, ZAMCELCO has been evading questions regarding the generator sets and refuses to be accountable to the Zamboangueños.”
“This is alarming to us consumers, who will suffer the consequences of ZAMCELCO’s illegal activities. The tens of millions of pesos used to run the generator sets illegally will drive ZAMCELCO into further financial ruin and us along with it,” he said.
Last May, Sotto filed a petition with the ERC pointing out ZAMCELCO’s failure to comply with the legal requirements for the generator sets: “No Certificate of Compliance, no bidding, no ERC approval, expensive power, conflict of interest because the generator sets are owned by Desco Inc.”
He said Guevarra also failed to appear at a preliminary conference called by ERC on June 26. “To draw out the truth, I filed – Written Interrogatories – consisting of very simple questions regarding the generator sets. The ERC gave GM Guevarra 15 days to answer the Written Interrogatories, which lapsed last July 19.”
“If there was nothing illegal, ZAMCELCO could have easily set the record straight by answering the questions. Unfortunately, ZAMCELCO has not even bothered to answer until now,” he said. Sotto said it is lamentable for the consumers that ZAMCELCO has continued to evade answering concerns regarding the use of the generator sets.
ZAMCELCO has acquired expensive diesel-powered generators to be able to supply Zamboanga’s power demand of at least 80 megawatts after Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) stopped supplying electricity to the cooperative for failing to pay about P450 million in debts. ZAMCELCO also accused WMPC of overbilling the cooperative by P400 million and demanded a refund.
With ZAMCELCO and WMPC locked in a legal battle, electric consumers and businesses here continue to suffer from power outages and poor utility services. Rotational power outages, which began in February, have already affected the local economy with many business establishments spending more on fuel to run their generators for hours on a daily basis.
The lack of household electricity also put heavy burden on residents and many of them rely on ZAMCELCO for power supply because they cannot afford to buy their own generators. Aside from power outages, ZAMCELCO’s irregular supply of electricity here resulted in low voltage most of the time and residents blamed the utility firm for damages on their appliances.
It was only recently that ZAMCELCO managed to improve a little the power situation after it signed a compromised agreement with WMPC after it paid a substantial amount to cover some of its past due accounts. (Zamboanga Post)
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