Grilled over power outages, Moresco II promises to improve supply by year-end

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent

THE Misamis Oriental II Rural Electric Service Cooperative (Moresco II) on Wednesday asked the provincial board to give it until year-end to upgrade its system and to improve its services in the eastern parts of the province.

Engr. Ronel Cañada, Moresco II general manager, asked for more time even as the provincial board summoned and grilled him over the power outages long being suffered by consumers in eastern Misamis Oriental.

Cañada asked officials to give Moresco II four months to upgrade the power distributor’s system.

Vice Gov. Jose Mari Pelaez said Cañada failed to satisfy the province’s legislature with his answers.

Aside from the power outages, Moresco II is also being hounded by serious questions on its increased power rates and unpaid real property taxes.

“Bisan ako naglabad akong ulo sa iyang tubag. Layo ra kaayo sa tinuod. I’m sorry to say that nga kaming mga konsumedor mao lamang ang gitinontohan sa taga-Moresco II,” Pelaez said.

He questioned Moresco II’s move in increasing power rates after it signed a contract with King Energy Generation Inc. some three three years ago.

Pelaez said Moresco II passed its obligations to King Energy on consumers. He said Moresco II pays the firm some P9 million a month supposedly for an additional supply of electricity.

He said Moresco II’s rates are much higher compared to what the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco) and Moresco I in western Misamis Oriental have been charging their consumers.

Cañada said Moresco II was forced to contract the services of King Energy because the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) had problems on supply at that time.

“Napugos kami tungod kay wala nama’y supply sa kuryente at that time sa wala paglantaw kung pila ang ilang bayronon basta masulbad ang kinahanglanon sa katawhan,” he said.

But despite the contract with King Energy, Moresco II still counted 118 hours of blackouts in its franchise area in July alone, mainly due to the “tripping off of our system.”

Cañada said this was due to the fact that 90 percent of Moresco II’s lines pass through private properties. Landowners, he said, were demanding compensation.

“Naa siguro’y wala ma record nga brownout tungod kay karaan naman gud among system. Obsolete na ba pero magamit pa gihapon. Panahon nga mag-hangin mao kini ang cause sa brownout. Dili namo mahibaw-an kung dunay mag-trip off nga linya kung walay magpahibalo namo. Ingon ana ka-bisaya among system,” Cañada said.

In order to improve services, Cañada said Morseco II would need to secure loans, pointing out that 90 percent of the power consumers in eastern Misamis Oriental are “residential.”

“That is why we are cash-strapped,” Cañada said.