Peco asks ERC to reinstate provisional CPCN
THE Panay Electric Co. (Peco) has appealed to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the reinstatement of its provisional certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) and asked for the revocation of the provisional authority (PA) granted to MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE).
Peco officials led by its lawyer, Estrella Elamparo and Peco Head of Public Engagement and Government Affairs Marcelo Cacho, said during a virtual press briefing Wednesday that a supplemental motion for reconsideration was filed with the ERC last May 22.
Peco claimed it was denied due process in the revocation of its provisional CPCN and the subsequent issuance of PA to MORE because it has not been furnished with the March 3-4, 2020 “ocular inspection report” of the ERC team.
“There are two mysterious documents here. The inspection report, which no one has ever seen, and the advance copy of the letter of the ERC that only MORE was able to secure,” said Elamparo.
The inspection report contained ERC’S findings during a two-day inspection. This report was then used as the basis of the ERC’S letter that revoked the CPCN of Peco and the issuance of MORE’S PA. Elamparo said Peco was not given a copy. “Shockingly, during that March 11 hearing, we could not be furnished a copy of the inspection report,” said Elamparo. “This is a blatant denial of Peco’s right to due process. We were not offered the opportunity to comment.”
Peco, in its latest appeal, stated several grounds why the PA granted to MORE should be junked.
Peco said MORE’S provisional authority should be scrapped on a multitude of valid and verifiable reasons, primary is its lack of technical competence to operate a power distribution system and network; its violations of Erc-issued rules that included the Philippine Distribution Code (PDC) and the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers; and its submission of “unperfected contract” on its claimed power supply agreements (PSA) with a power supplier.
On MORE’S lack of technical competence in operating a power distribution business, Peco cited the series of incidents of long and grueling power outages in Iloilo City since its March takeover until May.
“Iloilo is slowly turning to be the brownout capital of the Philippines due entirely to the management of the current distributor—more Power Iloilo, starting to be known as NO MORE power Iloilo,” said Cacho.
The long brownouts also came at a time when the summer heat and the lockdown have been keeping Ilonggos uneasy, the company said. Peco noted that due to the lockdown, many businesses remain closed and the power stations are still not on full load.
The company also expressed concern over how the power situation may worsen once the demand for electricity rises to normal levels.
Peco also chided MORE on its claim that the maintenance shutdown it had undertaken, which triggered the long power interruptions of 12 to 13 hours at the peak of summer months, was supposedly due to Peco’s failure to provide maintenance at Jaro substation.
The company said it is a “false accusation” because company records would attest that the substation had undergone preventive maintenance multiple times through the years.