The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has called for dialogue between the electric cooperatives (ECs) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to find a mutually acceptable resolution to rural electrification policy issues. NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong’s statement came a day after the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (PHILRECA), the umbrella group of 121 ECs in the country, called for the resignation of Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi over alleged “abuse of power.” In a statement issued on Tuesday (March 5), Masongsong emphasized the crucial role the energy sector plays in a rapidly developing country with a growing population, workforce, and economy. “Recognizing this, the 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan states that one of the strategies to provide our people with ‘matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay’ is accelerating infrastructure development––a key area of which is to develop the energy sector, specifically to ‘encourage competition to drive down electricity costs;ensure efficient transmission of electricity various load centers and interconnect the entire grid; and prioritize provision of electricity services to the remaining unelectrified off-grid, island, remote, and last-mile communities’,” he said. “It is in this context that the National Electrification Administration calls on the leaders of our electric cooperatives and the officials of the Department of Energy to engage in a dialogue and find bases of unity and work together to reconcile their respective policy positions on issues that are relevant to an industry that affects the lives of 104 million Filipinos,” he added. As such, Masongsong urged both PHILRECA and DOE to resolve differences through a constructive dialogue. “Differences of opinion are part and parcel of any vibrant and dynamic democracy.But the developed democracies in the world have shown us that the path to prosperity lies in the ability of a nation’s leaders to sit down and work for the collective welfare of people they have sworn to serve. It is my hope that the DO Eand our ECs can do the same,” the NEA chief said. Recently, PHILRECA passed a resolution declaring Secretary Cusi “persona non-grata,” and calling for his immediate resignation over what they claimed “biases and pre-conceived negative notions against electric cooperatives, preference to private for-profit corporations, and abuse of power.”The group likewise pointed out Secretary Cusi’s “lack of genuine knowledge regarding rural electrification and cooperativism, and failure to recognize the success
and gains of rural electrification and development not just because of the government through the National Electrification Administration but most especially because of electric cooperatives commissioned and considered implementing arm of the government.”The resignation call follows the initial endorsement of Secretary Cusi last January 11 to the House of Representatives through Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo the cancellation of franchises of 17 ECs, but eventually withdrawn such recommendation. In expressing its opposition, PHILRECA described the move to cancel the franchises of 17 power co-ops as unjust and biased and was done without prior consultation with the concerned ECs. At the same time, the group said the recommendation hasput the EC sector in a negative light. ###
