PECO’S ‘INACTION’ BLAMED ON ILOILO FIRE INCIDENTS

MORE THAN half of the nearly 3,000 fire incidents that occurred in Iloilo City in the last five years have been traced to “illegal connections” or “jumpers” due to the “weak monitoring” and “inaction” of the city’s previous distribution company, the Panay Electric Company (PECO).

This was among the details discussed during last week’s ‘Community Energy Forum 2020’ held at the Hotel Del Rio, where it was also revealed that, as of end of January 2020, there were more than 30,000 “illegal connections” in Iloilo City alone, thus greatly putting at risk the safety of residents.

During the no-holds barred forum held last August 4, 2020 that sought to enlighten the residents on what is being done to address the problem and also address consumer concerns, Iloilo East Baluarte Barangay chairman, Gary Patnubay, said “jumpers” were the main cause of the fires and conceded that between 30 to 40 percent of his constituents were involved in illegal connections to light up their residences.

The community leader’s view was supported by the records of the Bureau of Fire in Iloilo which reported that of the 2,887 fire incidents between January 1, 2014 to October 29, 2019, 1,464 or 51.87 percent were traced to short circuits and pole fires of PECO.

The local BFP compiled the record in compliance with an order from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

The ERC, in turn, has conducted an investigation on the request of Mayor Jerry Treñas, who has expressed his alarm over the repeated fire incidents due to “faulty electrical wiring.”

The residents also thanked the start of the actual operation of MORE Electric Power Corporation (MORE Power) as the city’s new power distributor for its ongoing campaign to address the problem of illegal connections in Iloilo.

A technical study by MIESCOR Engineering Services Corp., showed that there are around 30,000 illegal connections in Iloilo as of January this year, which resulted to a very high 9.3 percent “system loss” from the city’s power supply.

MORE Power was granted last year by Congress a congressional franchise to operate power distribution in Iloilo City and nearby areas after deciding to deny PECO’s franchise renewal application.

MORE started its actual operation only last March.

Ariel Castañeda, chief of the Apprehension Team of More Power, said their ‘door-to-door’ campaign in the past two weeks alone under “Oplan Valeria” showed some 3,000 residents are hooked-up illegally in the city’s power grid.

“For about two weeks of operations, we were able to apprehend more or less 3,000 illegal connections or jumpers, about 1,000 of which we have already converted to load applications.

“Of the said number, 600 already went to the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) to secure the needed requirements while 400 have already paid for new connections,” Castañeda added.

MORE Power president, Roel Castro, said PECO’S “inaction” abetted the problem of illegal connections in Iloilo that has accumulated over the years.

Castro also appealed to Iloilo City residents to refrain from illegal connection as they risk being arrested and pay a fine of P120,000.

He said MORE Power has made it easier and faster for residents to have a legal electrical connection under their “I-Connect” project, which has the support of local officials.