Albay loses power supply over co-op’s P56.7-M debt

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The 15 towns and three cities of Albay plunged into darkness at noon yesterday after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines cut off power to the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) for failing to pay its remaining P56.7-million debt to its private power creditor, the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC).

Aleco spokesperson Hazel Morallo said the cooperative only managed to pay P11 million of its total P67.7-million debt for its June 25 billing cutoff.

Morallo said the PEMC would only resume supplying power to Aleco should it settle its unpaid billing for June, and submit a list of its top 100 delinquent consumers in each of the three districts of Albay.

“These are the two conditions given to us by PEMC if we want reconnection of our power supply any time. But a reconnection is not possible today because it is now difficult to collect our collectibles now that the power is already cut off,” Morallo told The STAR.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said he was trying to do his best to lessen the impact of the power cutoff, particularly to the business sector.

“I’m working hard and pleading with energy authorities and corporate boards to secure an ‘immediate selective reconnection’ because a disconnection has inevitable disruptive economic impacts and bad signals on Albay’s image to our national and global constituencies,” Salceda said in an e-mail to The STAR.

“But it would be worse, if this sorry event would not prompt long-term reforms to secure that these would not recur and if possible Aleco would become a positive force in Albay development,” he added.

Salceda even thanked Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla for delaying the power cutoff to up to 15 days to find ways to solve the Aleco crisis.

“Yes, it is a disconnection which we were able to hold at bay for 15 years with state-owned Napocor and three years with the private PEMC. I did my best. Aleco had to pay only the current. DOE Secretary Petilla was already very generous and kind in agreeing to our position during protracted meetings on July 2, 8 and 9 that collections on the P1 billion for PEMC and P3 billion for PSALM be deferred,” Salceda said. – With Celso Amo