NEA keeping watch over troubled power co-op

NAGA CITY—The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has designated an officer to supervise the operations of the troubled Camarines Sur Electric Cooperative II (Casureco II), amid clamor from city officials and a consumers’ group for its officers to be removed over allegations of mismanagement.

Eddie A. Adlao, project supervisor sent by NEA, arrived here Wednesday, a day after a group of consumers and city officials held a rally demanding a change of management in Casureco II, the biggest power cooperative in the province providing electricity to this city and nine towns.

NEA Administrator Edita S. Bueno, in a letter on June 18, said Adlao’s designation as Casureco II’s project supervisor was “effective immediately.”

Adlao was tasked with overseeing the cooperative’s operations “to ensure reliable power supply.”

Adlao declined to be interviewed and instead immediately held a closed door meeting with Casureco II’s board of directors, general manager Jane Barrameda and spokesperson Emmanuel Rojo.

On June 11 and 12, Casureco II consumers here and the towns of Minalabac and Milaor were incensed over an outage that lasted for 36 hours and was followed by seven-hour daily brownouts until June 17.