Hotel accused of cheating on electric consumption

CEBU, Philippines - The Visayan Electric Company (VECO) yesterday filed criminal charges against Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino for alleged pilferage.

VECO alleged that the hotel cheated on its electric consumption since August 2007 until February 2011 when the alleged pilferage was discovered. During this time, the hotel reportedly consumed 27,469,951 kilowatt-hours of electricity and, therefore, owes VECO P168,699,560.86.

This amount includes the 25 percent surcharge and inspection cost.

VECO filed the complaint for violation of Republic Act 7832 or the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines Pilferage Act before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office yesterday.

Named respondents are Marco Potacio, the hotel’s area general manager for Visayas and Mindanao, Waterfront president Kenneth Gatchalian, resident manager Carlo Marcelo Sainz, group chief engineer Ferdinand Vincent Lazjaro, chief engineer Loulainetto Lauron and assistant engineer Jose Francis Cañizares.

Ricardo Lacson, VECO’s vice-president for administration and customer service, said they discovered the pilferage when their personnel inspected the hotel’s electricity connections from February 7-17, 2011.

The power metering department reportedly discovered that inside the condulet tee, the #10 red and black wires were cut deliberately and the cut edges were wrapped with an electrical tape.

 “The company’s revenue protection staff discovered the phase A and C of Waterfront billing meter showed “zero” reading. The zero reading was discovered using a clamp ammeter device,” Lacson said.

He said the deliberate cutting of wires resulting to the inaccurate meter registration for phases A and C current wires of the billing meter of Waterfront Hotel.

VECO’s team then replaced the wires with a new set and installed a wire steal on the condulet tee. However, six days later, when they conducted round-the-clock monitoring on February 17, VECO’s team discovered yet again that the black wire inside the condulet tee was cut and wrapped with electrical tape.

“Respondents intelligibility with deliberate intent and with intent of gain, cut damaged and destroyed or caused or allowed to be so damaged and destroyed 2# 10 AWG current wires leading to the electric billing meter of waterfront hotel,” Lacson said.

He said such damage and destruction to the side current wires resulted in inaccurate measurement of the electric consumption, which, in turn, resulted to monetary damage on the part of VECO of no less than P168 million.

In a statement, Waterfront denied the allegations.

“Waterfront Hotel vehemently denies any allegations of criminal wrongdoing by VECO. These issues may already have been ventilated and submitted for resolution before the Energy Regulatory Commission where a case was filed by Waterfront against VECO last April 2011 and a cease and desist order against VECO has been issued,” the management said.

The hotel’s management said it will not issue further comments until a copy of the complaint is furnished to the hotel.

“In the meantime, Waterfront and its officers and staff would like to assure its guests, the Cebuano community and the general public of its continued operations and services and that it will bring these baseless accusations to a proper resolution,” the management said.

In an interview, VECO Communications Manager Ethel Natera said they are open to a possible settlement.  (FREEMAN)