Power restored in Ecija town in time for elections

PANTABANGAN, Nueva Ecija , Philippines   â€“ Residents of this town, who have endured blackouts since early March, can finally heave a sigh of relief, albeit temporarily, as electricity has been restored here in time for today’s elections.

Power was restored here at noon Friday after the First Gen Hydro Power Corp. (FGHPC), which owns and operates the 132-megawatt Pantabangan-Masiway Hydroelectric Complex, granted the request of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to reconnect electricity in nine of the town’s 14 barangays serviced by the Pantabangan Municipal Electric Services (Pames).

The town’s five other barangays are being serviced by the Nueva Ecija Electric Cooperative. 

Rose Arbeth de Guzman, municipal election officer, said the power restoration would ensure the smooth conduct of today’s elections here.

She said the 30 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines have been tested.

De Guzman, however, said the reprieve is only temporary as this would only last up to May 15. “As far as I know, this is only for purposes of the elections,” she said.

De Guzman added that they have placed on standby generator sets in the nine polling centers that have no electric connection to the FGHPC.

The STAR tried to call up Dennis Gonzales, FGHPC vice president for business development, but he could not be reached.

A First Gen official, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed that power would be disconnected again on May 16.

The FGHPC, a subsidiary of the Lopez Group of Companies, cut off power supply to the municipal government-owned Pames last March 7, the third time it did so over unpaid bills.

It first cut off power on July 23 last year due to Pames’ outstanding obligations reaching P80 million. Power was restored on Aug. 2 last year after a series of negotiations among FGHPC, Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali, Mayor Romeo Borja Sr. and then Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo.

Last Feb. 11, the FGHPC again disconnected power over bills worth P4 million covering July to December 2012. This was restored two days later following another round of negotiations.

Prior to the March 7 power cut-off, Pames had paid P28 million of the P80 million. Of the amount, P21 million came from the provincial government via direct offsetting from the real property tax payment of CE Casecnan and FGHPC on behalf of the municipality. This left Pames with an outstanding debt of P52,264,222.75.  

Of the P52 million, Borja said P30 million has been paid based on the compromise agreement they had reached with the FGHPC.

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla also urged the FGHPC to restore power, citing Comelec Resolution 9598 tasking his department to provide uninterrupted power supply before the day of the elections until the canvassing of election returns and proclamation of the winners.