Baguio City, Benguet power consumers get P35 million refund

By Dexter A. See

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — More than 130,000 consumers of the Benguet Electric Coop. in this province and nearby Baguio City are now enjoying part of the over P35 million refund representing alleged over recoveries in the controversial power purchase adjustment (PPA) from a certain period despite a waiver from the general membership for the funds to be used to energize areas in Benguet.

Doubts were raised by local officials on the wisdom of the refund as ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said consumers who are technically not covered by the June 15, 2006 ERC order are benefitting from the refund which is not fair to those who were overcharged during the period covered by the refund.

Earlier, the ERC directed the rural electric cooperative to refund at least P34 million to its consumers representing purposed over recoveries in the controversial PPA from January 1999 to April 2004 to all its consumers.

Subsequently, the Court of Appeals sustained the ERC ruling in an order dated Nov. 28, 2008 after the cooperative appealed to aforesaid order.

Gerardo P. Verzosa, Beneco general manager, said the firm started refunding to its consumers “over recoveries” which started in July last year and was able to refund a substantial amount to its consumers prior to the waiver issued by the general assembly convened last year.

Last December 2010, members of the cooperative decided to waive the refund to allow the rural electric cooperative to pursue its mandate for rural electrification as well as install and maintain more streetlights in Baguio city, the only highly urbanized city in the Cordillera.

However, despite the waiver, the cooperative continues to comply with the refund order to all its consumers considering that the same is pursuant to the ERC order and they do not intend to deviate from the same.

Consequently, even consumers, including a giant mall in the city that did not exist during the period of alleged overcharging of the controversial PPA, are benefitting from the refund which is one of the loopholes of the ERC order that must be immediately clarified before the period of refund expires so that those deserving consumers will be the ones to enjoy the same.

Provincial, municipal and city officials assailed the ERC decision, citing that only consumers affected during the period during the over recoveries should be the ones to benefit from the refund and that the same should not be generally applied even to those consumers who did not exist during the period covere3d by the ERC order.

Considering that consumers have reached a collective decision regarding the utilization of the remaining more or less P30 million from the refund for the cooperative’s rural electrification efforts and the maintenance of the streetlights in Baguio City, consumers challenged the ERC to respect the decision of the general assembly as it is the governing body of the cooperative that knows the needs and concerns of the consumers and not for the regulating body to dictate its programs and projects.