Bacolod City – The awards given by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to Central Negros Electric Cooperative on July 29 is a form of “window dressing” or an instance of making something appear more attractive in an attempt to redeem a tarnished image, Power Watch Negros secretary general Wennie Sancho said.
This is another uproar amid the controversies hounding Ceneco from mismanagement to neglect of duties, he said.
NEA, by recognizing Ceneco “for giving utmost priority on the best interest and welfare of consumers”, was oblivious of the fact that only recently, the NEA ADCOM handed down a Notice of Decision dated May 30 that six members of the Ceneco Board of Directors (BOD) including a former NEA project supervisor/general manager were found guilty of simple neglect of duty and were meted out the penalty of suspension for 30 days, Sancho said.
This is appalling contradiction because the Ceneco BOD, who were penalized for securing an interim supply contract that was done without foresight and without due consideration with the prevailing rules, were awarded, without looking into their missteps of depriving the member-consumer-owners (MCOs) of cheaper supply of power due to their poor judgment, he said.
As if adding insult to injury, the NEA award for the “Lowest Residential Rate” was given without sacrificing the electric cooperative’s (EC) financial and operational viability. But a public scrutiny of Ceneco’s financial status shows that it is suffering from financial hemorrhage,” he added.
Sancho said that among Ceneco’s insurmountable financial obligations involving millions of pesos, to name a few, are the differential billing from KEPCO with its notice of default, the economic package of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between labor and management, the refund for overcharging, the P54 million security bong posted by KEPCO and the alleged P100 million loan of Ceneco from a reputable bank, among others.
Power Watch Negros is not getting any reply or positive results from Ceneco regarding its communications to discuss the concerns of the consumers. The letters he sent to acting GM Stan Leo Ticar were ignored, so consumers were not able to get answers to their queries or even a crumb of Ceneco’s attention under scores of prevailing malady in its mismanagement, he said.
Sancho said credit should be given were credit is due and the recipient should be worthy of the award.
Are the policy-makers of Ceneco worthy of the award given by NEA? Are members of the Ceneco BOD and top management proud of the award? An award is an achievement for excellence. In the final analysis, the consumers should be the judge and not NEA, he added. (Chrysee Semillano via tvds photo by tvds)