5th Dist. officials, Ileco III consumers want PSA with Artech revoked
Over a thousand consumers of Iloilo Electric Cooperative (Ileco) III including officials in northern Iloilo staged a picket in front of the Ileco III office in Brgy. Preciosa, Sara, Iloilo while the Board of Directors were having an emergency meeting last Saturday.
The protesters called for the revocation of the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) entered by the Ileco III board and Applied Research Technologies Inc. (Artech), an independent power producer. Under the contract, Artech will supply power to Ileco III for 25 years.
Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Raul Banias, who was also present in the meeting, said an apparent bad faith attended the signing of the PSA between the two groups.
He cited that Artech was not among the bidders in the recently conducted bidding of the Panay-Guimaras Power Supply Consortium (PGPSC) for interested suppliers of electric cooperatives in Panay and Guimaras.
Banias added the contract was even more dubious after Ileco III president Mateo Baldoza revealed that he was given P150,000 by Artech personnel.
Baldoza at first told Aksyon Radyo Iloilo that half of the amount, P75,000, was given to him during a meeting at the house of Govenor Niel Tupas Sr. in Jaro, Iloilo City by no less than the governor himself. Said statement, however, was recanted by Baldoza the following day in an interview with The News Today where he said that a woman from Artech, not Governor Tupas, gave him the money.
The other P75,000 according to Baldoza was given by the same woman from Artech during their meeting at Fine Rock Hotel in Jalandoni Street, Iloilo City.
Fifth District Board Member Jett Rojas also joined calls for the revocation of the contract entered into by Ileco III with Artech.
Rojas said pushing with the contract would be detrimental to the consuming public since it would result into high power rates.
The News Today learned that an official petition paper is being prepared by the leaders of the fifth district along with Ileco III consumers to be sent to the National Electrification Administration.
Ileco III covers Anilao, Banate, Barotac Viejo, San Rafael, Lemery, Ajuy, Concepcion, Sara, San Dionisio, Batad, Estancia, Balasan and Carles.
Tupas in an earlier interview admitted that he hosted the meeting with Ileco III directors and Artech officials but denied that he handed out an envelope containing money to Baldoza.
“That is not true,” the governor said.
He said he initiated the meeting because he wanted more power plants to be set up so that the price of electricity will be lower.
The(PGPSC) had earlier asked for offers from power producers to supply its requirements reaching 90 megawatts.
The consortium is composed of the Iloilo Electric Cooperative (Ileco) 1, Ileco 2, Ileco 3, Antique Electric Cooperative, Aklan Electric Cooperative, Capiz Electric Cooperative and Guimaras Electric Cooperative.
It was earlier reported that PGPSC decided to accept the offer of Asea One Power Corp. because it submitted the lowest price at P5.90 per kwh and will supply electricity using biomass power plants.