The support of officials from Iloilo City’s 84 fire-prone villages is required for 14,226 households to secure their legal electrical connections and avoid the risk of fire.

Councilor Sedfrey Cabaluna, in a privilege speech during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Tuesday, April 4, said many, if not all, of the fire incidents in this city, pointed to “electrical in nature” as the cause.

“Illegal connections, tapping, unauthorized load side connections, and substandard wirings lead to overloading and are the primary cause of fire incidents,” he said.

He cited, for instance, the fire that damaged 300 houses in Barangays West Habog-Habog and San Juan on Jan. 28 this year.

Only 114 have legal connections while the remaining 186 have no electric meters.

Data from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), he said, showed that of the 84 barangays highly susceptible to fire, 26 are from the City Proper district, 13 each in Jaro and La Paz, 12 from Molo, 10 in Lapuz, six in Mandurriao and four in Arevalo.

“We have the commitment of MORE Power, BFP, CDRRMO (City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office), and OBO (Office of the Building Official) to provide all the necessary assistance, including the provision of electrical engineers and licensed electricians to inspect barangays and households upon request,” he said.

Of the 66,385 households in the 84 highly susceptible barangays, 33,498 were energized by the previous distribution utility, 18,661 by MORE Power from 2020 to 2023 while 14,226 are not connected legally.

MORE Power vice president for customer care Maricel Pe-Calunod, in a previous interview, said consumers could avail of the MORE Konek program where the distribution utility goes down to the barangay level to process applications.

They also have an agreement with the city government, signed in June 2020, for the Iloilo Konek (iKonek) program that streamlines the processing of the application for electrical connections of low-load and informal settler applicants.

They only have to present their I-Konek barangay certification, identification card, community tax certificate, and electrical layout.

The P2,500 bill deposit can be paid in installments –P1,000 upon connection and the balance within the next two months.

She said the two programs have benefitted almost 22,000 consumers.

Cabaluna said that if the illegal connections are reduced, then there is a possibility of achieving “zero fire incident that is electrical in nature” by 2024.Perla Lena/PNA