Akelco starts info drive on conversion
LEZO, Aklan -- The Aklan Electric Cooperative Inc., (Akelco) has started its information dissemination and educational campaign on conversion throughout its coverage area.
Under the 2001 Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), electric cooperatives are given the option to convert either to a stock cooperative under the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), stock corporation under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or remain as non-stock and non-profit under the provision of National Electrification Administration (NEA) and shall be governed by the provisions of Presidential Decree 269.
General Manager for Operations, Wilfredo A. Ortiz said, "Akelco is mandated by NEA to conduct a massive information drive prior to referendum."
NEA's guidelines in the conduct of referendum states that it needs a majority of the cooperative's members to vote for the conversion to change from non-stock, non-profit cooperative to profit and stock cooperative.
Akelco now has 89,252 member-consumers in the entire province including two municipalities of Antique, Libertad and Pandan and 1 barangay in Sapian, Capiz.
"From these total number of member-consumers, we need to get the 50 % + 1 vote. Akelco cannot dictate, it's the consumers who will decide," Ortiz said.
To date, the Institutional Development Department Team of the cooperative has conducted a series of information dissemination meetings to 20 barangays in the provinces of Aklan and Antique.
The team is expected to finish the scheduled information drive next year for the remaining 342 energized barangays in the whole coverage area.