3rd outage in 8 months Power cut off anew in Pantabangan

PANTABANGAN, Nueva Ecija – Residents of this municipality suffered yet another blackout – its third in eight months  - after the town’s electricity supplier cut off power supply to the municipal government-owned Pantabangan Municipal Electric Services (Pames) yesterday over millions of pesos in unpaid bills.

          First Gen. Hydro Power Corp. (FGHPC), which owns and operates the 132-megawatt Pantabangan-Masiway Hydroelectric Complex yesterday over Pames’ failure to pay power bills worth P1.7 million this January.

Dennis Gonzales, FGHPC vice president for business development, told The STAR by phone that Pames was disconnected from the grid at 12 noon. He said the firm was forced to cut off power because Pames failed to honor its commitment to pay its current account it is supposed to pay by February 25.

“We don’t want Pames’ bills to pile up so we are constrained to cut off power so they would settle their current accounts at least," Gonzales said.

Gonzales said FGHPC has installed four generating sets in the town’s schools to cushion the impact of the power interruptions in classrooms. He added that the firm is installing another three gen sets soon.

Asked if FGHPC is willing to enter into another compromise agreement with Pames over the latest round of power interruptions, Gonzales said they are not inclined to do so. “There are already three agreements that they have breached so what’s the point in entering into another compromise agreement?,” he said.

The STAR called Mayor Romeo Borja Sr. for his comment but he could not be reached.

          FGHPC first cut off supply to the town on July 23 last year due to Pames’ outstanding obligations of P80 million under a restructuring agreement. Electricity was restored on August 2 after a series of negotiations among the FGHPC, the provincial government and the municipal government and through the intervention of then-Interior and Local Governments Secretary, the late Jesse Robredo.

          This was repeated last February 11 when FGHPC again disconnected power over bills worth P4 million from July to December 2012. Power was restored two days later following another round of negotiations.  

          Prior to last month’s power cut-off, P28 million of the P80 million has been paid for by Pames of which P21 million was given by the provincial government via direct offsetting from the real property tax payment of CE Casecnan and FGHPC on behalf of the municipality. This means that Pames still has outstanding debt worth P52,264,222.75 which it incurred after entering into an agreement for the settlement of the obligation in August last year during the first power cut-off.

          The firm said it has been trying to hold off on the decision to cut off power supply to Pames but cannot afford to do so anymore because it also has to keep its operations viable as it also supplies power to two other electric cooperatives, a government agency and an industrial customer.

          FGHPC has been supplying power to Pames since December 2006 in spite of the expiration of the power supply agreement in December 2008. 

          In previous interviews, Borja said his administration has been looking for solutions to the problem which the town has been facing since he first assumed mayor in 2007. He said he inherited the problem from his predecessors.

          Borja tapped Kaltimex, another power firm last year to rehabilitate Pames through a 25-year contract that some councilors and leaders opposed reportedly because it did not go through public consultation. (Manny Galvez)