LEGAZPI CITY?Gov. Joey Salceda yesterday said the Department of Energy had agreed to help put off a plan to cut Albay?s power supply because of unpaid bills that Salceda had questioned.

Salceda said he asked the DOE to allow Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) to pay its P982-million bills in 36-month installments. Aleco owes the money to Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC).

Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras approved the request, Salceda said.

He said allowing Aleco to pay its debts in three years simplified the process to rescue the cooperative.

?No need for government intervention, no need for Aleco to borrow since no one will lend to Aleco and no need for accommodation party, a white knight rescuer,? Salceda added.

Catch

The catch, however, was an increase of P1.66 per kilowatt hour in the next three years.

This would increase the cost of electricity in the province to P10.22/kWh from the current P8.56/kWh.

Aleco?s debts ballooned after wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) prices increased from January to August.

PEMC, a WESM operator, gave Albay until Sept. 12 to pay its bills.

Salceda said a disruption in power supply would have grave consequences on the overall economy of Albay, which could prove difficult to offset or reverse.

?It would also undermine the living standards of ordinary consumers,? the governor said.

He said he also requested the DOE to arrange with Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the National Electrification Administration (NEA) a restructuring of Aleco?s debts for 25 years with installments to start after the unpaid bills are fully paid.

At one point, Aleco was buying electricity from WESM at P68 per kWh. Aboitiz Power, which supplies electricity to the province, agreed to double the amount of power it supplies to Albay from 7 million kWh to 14 million kWh, or almost 70 percent of Aleco?s requirement.

Hidden agenda

The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Bikol, however, denounced the impending power rate increase.

?This should not have happened at all if the Aleco is a real electric cooperative,? said Tessa Lopez, public information of Bayan-Bikol.

The current provincial power crisis should also not be used by proponents of the privatization of Aleco to push their agenda, Lopez said.

?As it is, Salceda is saying that they can apply for a loan but it would mean a higher power rate in the province of about P1.63,? said Lopez.

?It is very dubious and something smells fishy about this blackmail deal,? she said.

Lopez claimed that Albay is, first and foremost, a primary source of power in the Luzon grid.

?Why can we not use our own natural energy resources to have cheaper and reliable electricity?? she said. Mar S. Arguelles and Rey Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon