ILOILO CITY – The lone power distributor on the island-province of Guimaras and two of its suppliers are facing a complaint over high electricity rate.
The complaint against Guimaras Electric Cooperative (GUIMELCO) and suppliers Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) and GN Power Kauswagan (GNPK) was filed before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on October 11.
Complainants were former Vice Gov. Vicente “Itik” de Asis, former Mayor Eugenio “Eugene” Reyes of Buenavista town, and incumbent Buenavista Sangguniang Bayan (SB) Members Ronnie Ferrer, Allan Chavez, and Sam Galve.
In their petition, a copy of which was obtained by the Manila Bulletin, the complainants alleged that GUIMELCO has one of the highest electricity rates in Western Visayas region in recent months.
Guimaras consumers paid around P17.67 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) last August.
GUIMELCO allegedly also failed to be transparent to its consumers on the power supply agreements with suppliers which the complainants claimed did not undergo Competitive Selection Process (CSP).
"GUIMELCO arbitrarily determines among themselves the rates and terms that will be passed on to consumers,” the complainants said.
The complainants urged the ERC to cancel the power supply agreements of GUIMELCO with PEDC and GNPK.
They also asked the ERC to issue an order that mandates an open and competitive bidding between power suppliers of GUIMELCO.
GUIMELCO has yet to comment as it has not received a formal copy of the complaint.
“We cannot comment as we do not know the content of the complaint,” said GUIMELCO General Manager Shirley Laurente. “But as to the August rate, it was an isolated case. Our rates went down to P15.14 kWh last September,” Laurente said.