Oh how I (and you and many other consumers) am overly frustrated with CENECO’s service, let me count the ways. How about you? Are you still satisfied with CENECO’s service?
As a business owner who relies on stable power for my equipment, I’ve witnessed firsthand the necessity of a reliable power source. My suppliers even required additional electrical setups to safeguard my machinery from damage before the one-year warranty lapsed. My failure to follow these requirements would invalidate the warranty. Unfortunately, still one of my machines succumbed to the unpredictable voltage fluctuations in Bacolod City and Central Negros, resulting from CENECO’s shortcomings. The damage started with a minor essential component of my equipment malfunctioning. The cost of replacement was trivial, so I did not worry much yet. However, the damage spread out and affected a more crucial and expensive part. The root cause, you might ask? Power fluctuations.
How Consumers Are Getting Frustrated, Even Angry
Again I ask the question: Are you satisfied with the quality of service CENECO has been giving us?
Aren’t you fed up with frequent, unscheduled brownouts? How about sudden fluctuations?
Does the low voltage keep you worried about your electrical appliances? How many of your appliances that are still working fine but suddenly need replacing? Do you also often scramble to turn off the main switch to protect your appliances? How frequently are transformers exploding in your area? Or perhaps you happen to pass by an electric pole catching fire?
Does the response to restore power in your home always seem like forever?
What comes to mind when you see an electric pole broken that is broken off its base and it turns out that it is merely hanging by the power line, making it look like it is still standing up? Then what about those rotten poles that need makeshift supports to prop them up?
Have you ever wondered how the meter readers can still bill you when your meter is already full of rust or molds all over it? Then you start to think that perhaps they are just doing guesswork on how to bill you.
Doesn’t it irk you to wait minutes and minutes without anyone answering CENECO’s emergency hotline? And when you get cut off and when you dial again, you get a busy tone?
On a scale of 1 to 10 (or even a hundred), how frustrated are you waiting for your application for connection to get approved because they don’t have transformers or meters available?
Want me to go on? I have many more questions to ask. But okay, I’ll ask one last question: Are you still happy to keep CENECO as our DU? Or, okay, ONE MORE LAST question: Do you know what exactly is happening? OK, OK!!! I will probably have more questions later.
Insights into CENECO’s Troubles
But first, let me share with you what I have discovered.
Loan Application Woes
Since 2011 or 12 years ago, CENECO applied for a loan from the Energy Regulatory Commission in the amount of 1.3 Billion Pesos as additional capex or capitalization for the rehabilitation and upgrading of their facilities.
The problem is, it was not approved by the ERC. Why? Here are the possible reasons:
- There are groups who have been opposing it.
- They did not indicate their CapEx application is an emergency, or perhaps it was not understood as if it is not urgently needed because of no. 3.
- Because it was found out that they are already charging 15 centavos as continuing CapEx, which amounted to 90 million pesos per year. However, unfortunately, they have not been spending it correctly. So now that they are applying for a loan, are they planning to burden the consumers with the payment of these loans?
Unattended Aging Facilities
Financial constraints hinder the replacement of aging facilities as the city grows.
With no money to spend, the aging facilities that need replacement are left unattended. As a matter of fact, 50% of these are already 30 years old. Also, though our city is rapidly growing, they could not even increase the capacity of our substations to meet the demands of the city. We just got over the pandemic, and businesses are starting to recover and grow. But our DU did not prepare for that. No wonder Power Watch Negros has petitioned NEA to declare CENECO an ailing electric company.
CENECO’s Decline and Losses
CENECO’s decline, reflected in NEA ratings and mounting losses, raises concerns about future improvements.
Last 2021, the categorization of CENECO in NEA was still Triple-A. The last 2022 rating showed it was downgraded, and in 2023 it can get downgraded further to Single-A. Isn’t it obvious why NEA would give such a rating? And do you see the trajectory? Do you still think CENECO is not an ailing electric company?
Early last year, I must be honest, it was not yet as bad. Maybe because of the pandemic, the demand for power is not yet that high. But the last few months have been driving me crazily fearful of more equipment breakdowns. Not to mention the times a power fluctuation reboots my printer causing damaged materials. I can’t see signs of improvement soon. Does CENECO still have enough time to improve its facilities in its financial state and with very little time left before the end of its franchise in 2030?
System Loss That Consumers Are Shouldering
Perhaps another contributing factor to why the drop in NEA Rating is how CENECO has been dealing with system loss. CENECO’s system loss has been found to be at 11%. But then, our DU is allowed to charge only 8.25%.
So since they cannot pass that on to the consumers, the electric company is operating with almost 20 million pesos less profit every month. This 2023, from January to June, CENECO’s losses have already reached P60 million, not counting its profit loss last year. Thus, this is resulting in unsettled loans that continue to grow and may balloon in a short time if losses and borrowings are not resolved soon enough.
Debt Disclosures
CENECO’s disclosed debts and fund allocations, like bill deposits and retirement funds, warrant scrutiny.
CENECO has disclosed that as of June 2023, its debt has amounted to P613,124,390.81.
Here’s the breakdown:
NEA Loans: P62,897,773.65
BANKS: P181,029,022.27
*Bill Deposit (of consumers): P277,489,144.98
*Employee’s Retirement Fund: P37,708,449.91
*Kepco-SalCon Power Corporation Bond: P54,000,000.00
*The 3 items in the breakdown are supposedly untouchable cash on hand of CENECO. Somehow CENECO has accumulated this amount of money for such purposes only and should not have been used for other purposes.
The P277 million Bill Deposit is to be returned to consumers after 3 years. So how are we going to get the refund it has already been spent?
CENECO must save up money to give out to their employees who retire. But they have also used up P37 million of that fund.
Last January 14, 2022, Kepco-SalCon Power Corporation, or KSPC sent a demand letter to CENECO asking the “cooperative” to settle some financial obligation. I cannot go into so many unnecessary details but at the moment, CENECO must have at least P54 million to use as bond deposit to energy wholesalers to continue purchasing from them. However, again, CENECO “borrowed” that too.
So aside from figuring out how to pay for the loans, the CENECO head is now getting nauseated figuring out how else can they recover. So Hiligaynon pa, ga lilingin na ulo nya paminsar.
The banks cannot lend to them because ERC will not approve their loan application. Do you want to know why? One reason is by 2030 or seven years from now the life of the CENECO franchise may end. And with their current state and the way CENECO is being operated and managed, do you think they can still renew their franchise? So should they be allowed to borrow some more, who do you think will pay for their loans? The easiest way for them to pay for their loans is to charge it to the consumers by increasing power rates. That’s going to be big since they only have a short time.
Searching for Solutions
Solutions for CENECO’s woes and the need for drastic changes to secure stability.
So here we are:
- frequent brownouts
- corroded power lines snapping and breaking
- electricity poles leaning and falling by themselves
- transformers getting busted due to overloading
- sudden drops in voltage or sudden surges in overvoltages
- meter readings are no longer accurate
- resulting in erratic fluctuations in your electric bills.
So again, what should CENECO do to reverse its worsening state? Is there still hope?
Mayo pa Ilonggohon ko na lang ni para intense: Maminsar na lang ko ya activities nga angay hampangun sa dulom!! Or ma buta buta na lang ta sa dulom ah!!! YOGGSSS!!!!
I am sorry for the outburst. I just can’t stand it anymore.
JVA-A Glimpse of Hope for CENECO
But there is hope. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. A silver lining is present. The future holds promise. Things can still turn around. We can find a way through this. Don’t give up, there’s a chance. Optimism is not misplaced. The possibility of a positive outcome exists. Errr… I am starting to get cheesy this time.
I Favor the JVA
Promoting the JVA’s benefits and how Primelectric’s involvement could pave the way for improvements.
Actually, I have been writing a lot of articles about the JVA and all its advantages but I have not gotten this riled up until now. Perhaps I could not get over the realization that people oppose this and are actually very aggressive in doing so. Frustrations about CENECO and cursing CENECO go trending in my social media feeds yet I cannot understand why people still think we don’t need Primelectric to partner with CENECO to improve its services. Buyayawun ta ang CENECO tapus ma No to JVA???!!
Let us please stop opposing it. Or better yet, let’s do something about this. Our present solution is the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) proposed by Primelectric to CENECO. And we can take part in making the partnership happen.
I have already written about this. But here I am again for emphasis, will put it out there to convince you and me some more.
Bill Deposit Refunds and Facility Upgrades
Primelectric’s 1.7 Billion pesos cash injection to CENECO holds the promise of bill deposit refunds and facility upgrades.
Primelectric Holdings Incorporated will give 1.7 Billion pesos in cash to CENECO so that it can pay its borrowed money including our Bill Deposit Refund. In other words, if the JVA is approved, we will get our Bill Deposits back!
Dispelling Claims and Restoring Power
Addressing concerns, including the misconception about increased charges, and emphasizing the potential for improved services.
What’s more, it’s not a loan to CENECO that we have to pay. Because it’s payment for the CENECO facilities that they will repair and upgrade. (Why spend money to repair they don’t own anyway?)
Contrary to the claims of the opposing groups, Primelectric also claims they will not increase the current Distribution system and metering charge. This will remain at P1.18 per kilowatt hour.
If the Joint Venture Agreement is approved by us the consumers, CENECO+Primelectric becomes Negros Power. Negros Power will spend the money on the construction and modernization of these facilities so that the DU’s service will improve (as seen in Iloilo City). Then after some time, after fixing and upgrading the facilities, unscheduled brownouts will gradually become less frequent. Electricity will also be cheaper!!!!
Alright!! INDI NA KITA MAG BUTA BUTA!!! Oops. Er, this means we will not be brought back to the dark ages after all. (pun intended)
Ignoring Skeptics
Challenging naysayers and asserting that the JVA will save and extend CENECO’s existence.
Ignore the naysayers! We will not be at a loss in this Joint Venture Agreement or JVA.
This is the very thing that will save CENECO and revive it and extend its life for another 25 years through the new franchise that Congress will give to Negros Power where CENECO still has a 30% share of ownership.
If that does not convince you to go for a Yes to JVA, I don’t know what will. But I will still keep trying.
Convincing Change
So to the member-consumers of CENECO, let’s take part in the plebiscite because the YES to JVA should get majority votes.
Participating in the Plebiscite
Details of plebiscite dates, and the option to vote by proxy for those unable to attend in person.
Plebiscites are scheduled on the following dates: August 19, 20, 26, and 27. September 2 and 3, 2023.
If you want to vote YES to JVA but don’t have time to vote on the day of the plebiscite, you now have a way to. You can vote by proxy!!
Fill up a proxy form at the CENECO-JVA booths located at:
- SM City Mall
- Ayala Mall
- Robinsons Mall
- City Mall
- Gaisano Mall
- 888 Mall
- Old and new Bacolod City halls
