Power co-op to refund P605M to CamSur folk

NAGA CITY—The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered the Camarines Sur II Electric Cooperative (Casureco II) to refund starting this August a total of P605 million to its 98,000 consumers for overcharges in their electric bills collected over a period of seven years, or from 2003 to 2010.

The ERC, in its ruling, said Casureco II collected more than it should by using a power rate computation dictated by and incorporated in its contracts with its power suppliers.

This means that from September 2003 to December 2010, Casureco II collected more than what was approved by the ERC and more than the benchmark set by the National Power Corp., according to Vincent Hidalgo, ERC regulatory compliance officer for Casureco II.

The ERC decision was approved on April 14, 2014 but it was not implemented because of the motion for reconsideration filed by Casureco II.

The ERC, however, in a final order issued in the last week of July, directed Casureco II to start refunding its consumers starting August 2015 up to December 2023 an average of P7 million per month.

Hidalgo said the refund would be equivalent to 40 percent of the actual monthly power consumption of consumers.

“For example, (if) the power bill to be paid is P100, the consumer will pay only P60 every month for the (next) nine years,” Hidalgo said.

Emmanuel Rojo, a member of the Casureco II board of directors in 2008, said Casureco II did not benefit from the collection of the unauthorized power rate but the power suppliers. Juan Escandor Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon