ALECO Members to Mull Coop Crisis

LEGAZPI City, Sept. 26, 2010-Multi-stakeholders of the power cooperative here have approved a resolution mandating the Board of Directors (BOD) of the Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO) to facilitate a special meeting of member-consumers on October 16 to come up with solutions that will bail out the ailing power facility

ALECO consumers asserted their right to call for a special assembly under Article 3, Section 2 of the cooperative by-laws to find a way out of the problems hounding the power cooperative.

Fr. Ramoncito Segubiense, Legazpi diocese Social Action Executive Director facilitated the meeting at the Pastoral Center of St. Gregory the Great Cathedral.

The assembly assailed the inability and negligence of the management and the board to come up with effective solutions and policies that will solve the financial crisis experienced in ALECO.

Earlier, Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda had imposed on consumers an added P1.66 per kilowatt hour to the present power rate to be paid within three years. The generated amount will pay off the P982 million indebtedness of ALECO to the Philippine Electricity Market Corp (PEMC).

PEMC threatened a power blackout in the entire province unless the additional rate was imposed.

Salceda's formula was concurred by the ALECO board without public consultation and clear presentation of the financial status of the cooperative.

The decision was greeted by howls of protests from militant groups and the church.

The protesting groups believed that the announced power cut off by PEMC to ALECO was only a "ploy" to pass on to consumers Salceda's imposition of additional power rate.

During the assembly dubbed as "Energy Consumers Forum, An Liwanag sa ALECO", business sector represented by Benjie Santiago explained that the added cost of power is unproductive and will not help their sector compete with other businesses outside the province.

Engr. Virgilio Perdigon of Aquinas University has challenged local officialdom to "provincialize" the power cooperative and enjoy "first" the benefits of the two existing geothermal fields in Albay. (Elmer James Bandol)