Mayor pushes for Zambo power firms’ enhancement

By TEOFILO GARCIA, JR

ZAMBOANGA City– The member-consumers of the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) approved a resolution calling Zamcelco management and board to study the possibility of implementing the investment management contract (IMC).

The resolution was adopted during Zamcelco’s Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA) Sunday afternoon where Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has strongly pushed for the cooperative’s enhancement program under the IMC scheme in a bid to ensure a 24-hour stable power supply in this city.

Salazar said the aggravating power problem has been affecting businesses, government agencies and all sectors upsetting this city’s development programs. “Sufficient power supply is an indispensable strategy for economic development. It has always been our goal to have a 24-hour stable power supply for the city and it is essential that we explore any and all means available to have electricity supply sufficient to maintain our thrust for economic progress and to ensure better quality of life for our people,” Salazar said.

She called for the calibration of Zamcelco’s capacities and services to make it more responsive to the needs of its more than 100,000 member-consumers. She appealed to the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to strengthen Zamcelco and help it become economically viable and prepared for retail competition and open access as mandated by law. She said the IMC scheme is recommended by the City Council patterned after the program implemented by the Pampanga Electric Cooperative. She said Zamcelco’s capabilities will be enhanced making it economically viable under the IMC scheme.

However, Salazar clarified that the IMC is not to remove the present Zamcelco management but rather a scheme that will capacitate and improve the operation of the cooperative. Salazar called on the member-consumers especially those who are qualified to serve the cooperative by making themselves available and help Zamcelco become economically viable.
“The question now is, can we have 24-hour uninterrupted electricity in the city? The way forward is for us to review the management and it is this time that we call on the people to unite with us and help Zamcelco,” she said.

This city had been experiencing the past months six to seven or even eight hours brownout daily brought about by the less power generation from the Mindanao grid. This city, which has a total peak load of 85 to 90 megawatts is being supplied by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) and two independent power producers (IPPs).

Salazar emphasized that the local government has intervened to help solve the power crisis by enjoining Zamcelco to implement the interruptible load program (ILP) but the same failed to pull through due to the coop’s lack of technical capability. Salazar said that the system’s loss and other management problems are among the reasons that cause the power crisis in this city. pna