There appears to be a valid reason for the optimism shown by Gov. Patrick Alain Azanza with regards to his efforts to help bring down the high cost of electricity in the province of Catanduanes.
Last week, he trumpeted the good news on his social media page, particularly the video of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) conducting a hearing on the National Power Corporation’s motion for clarification regarding the eligibility of SUWECO’s additional 6.6 megawatts covered by the 2nd Amendment.
A key official in the power industry claims that the governor, who was a classmate of ERC chairman Francis Saturnino Juan during his UP Law days, believes that the commission will rule in favor of SUWECO’s claim that it is entitled to the subsidy to the tune of P530 million just for the covered period alone.
The power supplier reportedly averred before the Commission that the questioned additional power plants were intended to replace the unrealized load from the uncompleted hydroelectric power plants.
Azanza had earlier made the rounds of the NPC, ERC, National Electrification Administration (NEA) and Department of Energy (DOE) headquarters to lobby for a favorable decision on the issue as well as the fast-tracking of the FICELCO’s long-delayed Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for a new power provider.
The commission heard testimony that granting the subsidy would be of great relief to FICELCO’s 60,000 member-consumers who are now groaning with difficulty in paying the P17/kilowatt-hour rate under the Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA).
It would decide on the matter by the next hearing, the schedule of which has yet to be determined.
Assuming that the ERC rules in favor of SUWECO’s claim, this would have the effect of doing away with its earlier ruling in January 2024 that declared as ineligible for subsidy the supply contract it entered into with the cooperative under the questioned 2nd Amendment.
If this is so, then SUWECO will be able to run the Marinawa 1 and Viga diesel plants covered by the 2nd Amendment contracts.
The EPSA will be mutually terminated and the power rates would go back to its previous, reasonable affordable level.
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Reduction and Management Offices (DRRMOs) personnel welcome the launching of the Unified 911 Emergency Hotline by the DILG central office, they are not as enthusiastic about it as Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
According to one of them, they would rather have a unified Command Center based at the provincial capitol which would receive calls from the public via a separate dedicated number.
Its backers claim that it would be a better system than the DILG’s 911 as many civilians may not call the hotline manned by the PNP and instead prefer to reach out to fellow civilians at DRRMOs.
This scheme was proposed during the past administration but it was not received warmly.
They hope that the new dispensation agrees.
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THE WEALTHY FATHER. An old man is on his death bed and calls all his family and the priest.
He says to his first son, “I want you to have all the property in the north of the town, I have 16 houses there.”
He says to his second son, “I want you to have all my commercial property, 8 businesses.”
He says to his third son, “I want you to have the houses in the southern district, there are only 4, but they are expensive and lucrative.”
The old man passes away and the priest says, “That is unbelievable, he must have been incredibly wealthy?”
The old man’s widow laughs and says “He was a window cleaner”