Power distributor Panay Electric Company (PECO) on Thursday, Nov. 14, clarified that majority of the poles involved in fire incidents in Iloilo City were owned by telecommunications companies (telcos).
In its “Post Fire Comprehensive Report” submitted to the Energy Regulation Commission (ERC), PECO disproved reports that it is to be blamed for more than 700 pole fires in the metropolis.
PECO cited data from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP-Iloilo) that showed that only 138 out of 709 pole fires recorded from 2017 to 2019 involved the power firm’s own poles. The rest involved those owned by telcos.
“Regarding the 138 items attributable to PECO poles and equipment from 2017-2019, short circuits on service lines are the most common issues reported to customers which are caused by additional loads, customers allowing relatives or neighbors to attach on single service connection,” said Marcelo Cacho, PECO head of Public Engagement and Government Affairs.
He added that there have been secondary lines/drop wires, transformer leakage, defective transformers, busted fuse cut-outs that are brought about by pilferage or illegal connections.
Other concerns originated from force majeure and bad weather conditions, flash overs, and the presence of vegetation.
The ERC started an investigation last week after receiving a complaint about purported poorly maintained distribution lines, power outages, and hazardous electric posts, listing down nine incidents of fires that hit PECO electric poles, which was based on the report of the BFP.
However, in a recent hearing with the ERC, it was classified by Fire Marshall Cristopher Regencia that the most recent incidents that happened in the boarding house adjacent to St. Paul University and Iloilo Medical Center were totally unrelated to the pole fires but were due to an electrical short circuit coming from the electric wires on the upper floor of the boarding house.
“The blackouts across the entire Panay Island, and simultaneous electric pole fires in the city, were beyond the control of PECO yet it was used to show us in a bad light by overlooking the facts and stating mere assumptions. Now, consumers are asking, is this sabotage to mask the reality that the new power distribution franchise holder is not capable of serving Iloilo because they have no distribution infrastructure in place at all,” Cacho added.
PECO is the current power distributor in Iloilo and the company’s rival is the Razon-owned MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE) which is currently aiming to expropriate PECO’s distribution assets.
MORE recently issued a statement that it allocated P1.7 billion in the next three years to upgrade Iloilo City’s electricity distribution facilities such as: system reliability projects, system loss reduction projects, system capacity projects, and safety improvement projects.
According to PECO, although MORE’s announcement sounds like a solid investment, the amount they are claiming to invest is only a third of the P7 billion that they need to build a functioning power grid and develop the infrastructure for distributing power to Iloilo.
“I’m indignant for the people of Iloilo. The coal plant shutdown and the almost-simultaneous pole fires in different areas of Iloilo that they want to attribute to us make me wonder if there’s something happening behind the scenes,” Cacho said.
“Rest assured that all concerns and complaints are properly addressed at the earliest time possible,” he added. IMT
