• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Save & Protect the Ceneco Consumers (SPCC), a consolidated movement spearheaded by Power Watch Negros Advocates Inc. (PWNA Inc.), yesterday urged the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to declare Ceneco an ailing cooperative.
Wennie Sancho, one of its convenors, yesterday said the SPCC is the culmination of their struggle against unfair electricity rates which are excessive.
“These skyrocketing increases in our monthly electric bills had a significant impact on our household economy. Ceneco, as a distribution utility miserably failed to protect the consumers from exorbitant power rates,” he said.
Sancho said the dismal failure of Ceneco to provide affordable, reliable and efficient power for the consumers are indicators that it was remiss in its duty to advance the welfare of the consumers. Until now, there were no concrete measures taken by Ceneco to appease the sentiments of consumers by reducing the cost of electricity and improving their inefficient services.
“We have suffered long enough and the time to act is now, in order to protect the consumers from unprecedented financial injuries and undeserved economic suffering which had caused irreparable damage to the economic existence of the Ceneco consumers,” he said.
The SPCC, in a resolution it passed yesterday, urged NEA to declare Ceneco as under-performing or an ailing cooperative after it had undertaken a comprehensive audit and had found that the power utility firm is not compliant with the set performance and government standards.
The group also requested that the resolution be signed by representatives of consumers from the nine Districts of Ceneco in Bacolod City.*
