Growth and electric cooperatives

like the thick, expansive bureaucracies and permits required before one can explore and develop new power plants.

We focus on the role and “misrole” of electric cooperatives (ECs). Since they are geographical monopolies granted with congressional franchise to distribute electricity, they can help expand or

restrict power demand. If an EC for instance is mismanaged and does not pay the power generation company (genco), even if the genco has big plans to expand power capacity, it cannot do so.

The Department of Energy (DoE) has issued two media releases related to problematic ECs dated February 01 and February 06. It noted that many ECs are failures in expanding rural electrification because of “inefficient management, corruption, unnecessary political interference, institutional conflicts.”

So DoE will conduct a performance review of ECs, especially those that burden their communities with persistent and unresolved brownouts, because they have heavy debts and do not pay their power supply. Underperforming ones will be assisted while non-performing ones will be recommended for cancellation of their franchises.

DOE has identified 17 ECs that are chronic failures to provide satisfactory services to their customers as stipulated in their congressional franchise. Seven are from Regions IV-B and V — ALECO (Albay), CASURECO III (Camarines Sur), FICELCO (Catanduanes), MASELCO (Masbate), OMECO (Occidental Mindoro), ORMECO (Oriental Mindoro), and PALECO (Palawan). Other problematic ECs are PELCO (Pampanga), BASELCO (Basilan), LASURECO (Lanao), SULECO (Sulu), ZAMCELCO (Zamboanga), and DANECO (Davao del Norte).

Then certain islands have rising missionary subsidies — which are then passed on to all electricity consumers nationwide via high universal charges.

In three previous articles in this column, “Unstable power supply due to problematic electric cooperatives” (February 08, 2017), “How the bureaucracy works against cheap and stable electricity (March 08, 2017), and “Corporatization of electric cooperatives can reduce system loss” (September 29, 2017), it is argued that ultimately all ECs should be corporatized and depoliticized, be registered as corporations with SEC, and not with NEA.