Two electric cooperatives (ECs) were ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to immediately stop collecting additional Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable Capital Expenditures (RFSC) from their consumers.
The RFSC is envisioned to fund the amortization of the debt of ECs used for the expansion, rehabilitation or upgrading of their existing electric power system in accordance with their ERC-approved capital expenditure (capex) plan.
The ERC directed Camiguin Electric Cooperative Inc. (CAMELCO) and Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative Inc. (BUSECO) to cease from collecting any additional RFSC, pending their compliance with the regulator’s directive to submit an update on their respective RFSC collection as approved by the Commission.
“In view of the said directive of the Commission to cease the collection of any additional RFSC, CAMELCO’s RFSC rate shall be pegged at P0.5324 per kilowatt hour (kWh), while BUSECO’s RFSC shall be pegged at P0.2508/kWh until further notice of the Commission,” ERC Chairperson and CEO Agnes Devanadera said.
CAMELCO, based on records submitted to the ERC, has not complied with the directive for it to submit a third-party audit report with respect to the additional RFSC rate that is being collected from its member-consumers.
It was also directed to submit an update on its capex projects, including sufficient justification for each project, and an update on its RFSC collection as approved by the commission pursuant to Resolution No. 20, Series of 2009 or the Rules for Setting the Electric Cooperatives’ Wheeling Rates (RSEC-WR).
Meanwhile, BUSECO has already complied with the submission of its third-party audit report concerning the additional RFSC collected by it from August 2011 to July 2014. Hence, BUSECO was directed to submit to the ERC its update on the additional RFSC collected from August 2014 up to present and an update on its RFSC collection as approved by the commission pursuant to the RSEC-WR.
“The Commission will not tolerate any stakeholders’ non-compliance of our directives. We will closely monitor the respective compliance of CAMELCO and BUSECO on the submission of the required documents. Their failure to comply with the said directives shall constrain the Commission to impose the appropriate sanction/s, if warranted,” Devanadera added.
