ILOILO CITY — The city’s sole power distributor, Panay Electric Company, Inc., (PECO), gave assurance on Thursday that it will continue to operate even after the expiration of its franchise on Jan. 19.
“PECO will continue its business as usual because we were given instructions by the president to continue our operations. Ilonggos should not fear black-out because we will remain true to our commitment that we will never leave Iloilo City in darkness,” PECO Assistant Vice President for Operations Randy S. Pastolero told reporters.
Mr. Pastolero said while PECO’s franchise will be expiring on Saturday, they still have a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity valid until May 2019 that allows them to operate in the city.
“The Department of Energy (DoE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) also called us and said that they will issue an order instructing us to continue our operations,” he said.
The 95-year old company’s application for franchise renewal under House Bill No. 6023, submitted in July 2017, remains pending before the House of Representatives’ committee on legislative franchises.
A new franchise for Iloilo City has been granted to MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The final bill is currently awaiting the signature of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
The Senate’s committee on power services organized a meeting of the technical working group that was formed to ensure a smooth transition of power distribution in Iloilo City last Nov. 8, 2018.
During the meeting, the ERC proposed a two-year transition period from PECO to MORE Power, during which time the former will be authorized to continue its operations while the latter sets up its own power distribution system.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pastolero said PECO remains determined to fight for its franchise.
“We are still open for any legal remedies and as we have stated before, this is gonna be a long legal battle.” — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

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