SAMAL ISLAND, DAVAO DEL NORTE —Irrate electric consumers of Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (NORDECO) here protested on Wednesday, March 1, =against what they called poor services and management of the electric cooperative.
Nordeco is the electric distribution utility on the island, which serves 18 thousand households and commercial customers.
IGACOS Vice Mayor Lemuel Reyes lamented the high electricity rate being charged to consumers compared to other electric cooperatives.
“We in the city council have passed resolutions. We invited Nordeco to a dialogue, but it resulted in nothing. There is nothing we can do but to conduct a peaceful rally so that national leaders will do something,” Reyes said.
Juanita Baclayan, an electric consumer, said the electric supply is erratic.
“We are shocked when we see our bills which are too high,” Baclayan said.
Baclayan added that it is such a hassle because she has students who need to study at night, “Because of the power interruptions, our appliances are damaged,” Baclayan said.
Nordeco Officer-in-Charge Elvira Alngog said the power generators in the island are damaged, which forces them to do a two-hour rotational power interruption.
Alngog said that IGACOS Light and Power Corporation is supplying them with 6.5 megawatt of power while their three embedded generators provide 3MW of capacity.
“Our other generators are being repaired. But our ultimate solution is to connect Samal to the Mindanao grid,” Alngog said.
Alngog passed the blame to Mindanao Grid Corporation, an Independent Power Producer when their three generators shut down..
“We are doing our best to provide the best service. Even if Nordeco has no money, we are trying to purchase the submarine cable to answer the clamor to connect to the Mindanao grid,” Alngog said.
In 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed House Bill No. 10554 seeking to expand the franchise area of the Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Company, Inc. (DLPC) to two cities and five municipalities of Davao del Norte which includes the Daneco franchise area.
