BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The Central Negros Electric Cooperative will hold its Annual General Membership Assembly in Bacolod City on June 27 after the recent election of the new members of the Board of Directors, led by its president Jojit Yap.
The Ceneco Board is also composed of Joyce Martha Cuenca as vice president, and Robert Javellana as secretary and treasurer. Other members are Fr. Ernie Larida, Eugenio Velasco Jr., Antonio Panique, Dwight Carbon, Noel Alarcon, and Nicanor Gerald Jison.
Acting Ceneco general manager Dan Pondevilla said they will hold a virtual AGMA due to prohibitions on gatherings and provide a link for member-consumer-owners, who want to be updated on the status of the operation of the power utility firm. They could also air the activity on radio and via Facebook Live.
FACE-TO-FACE
They also plan to hold a face-to-face assembly with not more than 50 persons, including the officers of MCO organizations they have established, he said.
Pondevilla said that with the election of a new set of officers, he is optimistic that they will continue to improve efficiency.
He said they will implement livelihood projects for consumers through corporate social responsibility programs.
Pondevilla said the frequent brownouts are being experienced when the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines conducts maintenance work, since Ceneco has no source of power, and called it a “ride on maintenance”.
Ceneco gets its power from the transmission and sub-transmission lines controlled by NGCP, he said.
Pondevilla also said there are brownouts caused by old power lines or insulators, and even “tuko” or lizards and bats, whose bodies become conductors of electricity when they come into contact with the power lines.
NEW LINE
Ceneco has already established a new 69-KV sub-transmission line. However, this has not yet been energized by the NGCP, he said.
They are coming up with their own initiative to curb brownouts at minimal expense or at no cost on the part of Ceneco, he added.
Meanwhile, Pondevilla said the Board is studying the possibility of extending the 10-year contract of Kepco-Salcon with Ceneco, that expired Tuesday, for only a year.
He said the 40-megawatt contract is no longer practical because they only need 20MW. They hope to reduce the price of electricity, he said.
They will give the Ceneco Board enough time to study carefully the one year extension of the contract for 20MW since they want to come up with the right decision, Pondevilla said. “The consumers can be assured that we will enter into a contract that is most practical and most beneficial to the consumer-members,” Pondevilla said.*
