The National Electrification Administration will issue show cause orders to Palawan Electric Cooperative Inc. and Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative Inc. for their failure to provide quality service despite repeated complaints from member-consumers.
“We need to ensure that ECs are responsive and always on the lookout for the best interest of their consumers. In this case, we are in receipt of numerous complaints against the two cooperatives,” NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong said in a statement.
Palawan and Oriental Mindoro have been experiencing frequent power outages.
“We are issuing these show cause orders against Paleco and Ormeco why they should not be sanctioned or be hailed to the proper courts for gross negligence or gross neglect of their duty to their member-consumers,” Masongsong said.
NEA Deputy administrator Artis Nikki Tortola, for his part, said other electric cooperatives found to have violated the reliability standards set by the Energy Regulatory Commission will likewise be asked to explain why they should not be administratively sanctioned.
The Technical Services and Engineering Department of NEA recently conducted an investigation into reliability performance of all the electric cooperatives, including Paleco, under the supervision of the state-owned corporation.
“In connection with the results of our fact-finding probe of the Palawan blackouts, a show cause order will be issued by NEA in relation to all ECs, including Paleco, who have violated the reliability standards, directing such ECs why they should not be administratively sanctioned for such violations,” Tortola said.
NEA, however, said any violation committed by the electric cooperatives in connection with the Philippine Distribution Code and Philippine Grid Code, will be dealt with by ERC.
Tortola said the agency only assists the electric cooperatives in its compliance with the PDC and PGC, which are both ERC issuances.
“However, by way of sanctions and penalties, or what may be the liability of Paleco, NEA merely assists the ECs in its compliance through engineering assistance, funding and management and any violations committed in connection with any ERC issuances may be sanctioned by the appropriate body, which is the ERC,” he said.
Tortola said NEA will look into Paleco’s management lapses, which resulted to its violation of the standards.”
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, earlier directed NEA to investigate prolonged power outages in Puerto Princesa. NEA submitted the result of the investigation last August 11.