Procurement News Notice |
|
| PNN | 2192 |
| Work Detail | MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) is looking to energize up to 10,000 urban poor households by the 100th day of the Duterte administration or nearly double the current figure recorded by the Department of Energy (DoE). “Hopefully we will meet 10,000 households by the first 100 days of the President,” Meralco Spokesman Joe R. Zaldarriaga said on the sidelines of an energy forum on Thursday. As of Aug. 25, the department said 5,263 households were energized since the program was started on July 8 with the support of Meralco, the country’s largest distribution utility. “By helping indigent families secure legal electrical connections, the DoE together with the help of distribution utilities can further reduce the risk of fire hazards, which may be caused by the illegal use of electricity,” the DoE said in a statement on Thursday. Mr. Zaldarriaga said that under their agreement with the DoE, the requirements for indigent families and informal settlers to gain access to electricity have been made easier, thus the distribution utility was able to energize households in just a short time. During the DoE previous report, a total of 2,082 households have been energized by Meralco via a combined regular service and prepaid electricity service schemes between July 8 to 24. The latest electricity connections are in areas where so-called urban poor are residing, including temporary housing sites “Happy Land” and “Aroma,” Baseco compound, Isla Puting Bato and Parola in Tondo, Manila. The program has also reached Barangay Gaya-Gaya in San Jose del Monte and other municipalities in Bulacan, as well as Laguna and Rizal. The DoE is asking local officials and leaders “to get more actively involved in ensuring safe legal electrical connections to protect communities thereby allowing the cities and municipalities to also earn more revenues from delivering better services to the people.” The department added that it “remains committed to fulfill its household electrification program, especially benefiting those living in economically depressed communities by providing them legal, secure, safe and stable supply of electricity.” The DoE also said the move to energize the homes of informal settlers was also guided by policies that seek to safeguard their welfare against fires that might be triggered by faulty electrical wiring. “The unlawful use of electricity is prohibited under Republic Act No. 7832, otherwise known as the Anti-Pilferage of Electricity and Theft of Electric Transmission lines/Materials Act of 1994,” it said. “Among the prohibited acts include: wire-tapping, tampering, installing, or using tampered electrical meter, jumper, current reversing transformer, shorting or shunting wire, loop connection or any attempt to destroy any accessory of the metering device box which encases an electric meter or its metering accessories,” it added. It also cited the Magna Carta for Residential Consumers, which does not allow consumers from performing acts related to the pilferage of electricity. “The Code reinforces the Anti-Pilferage Act by reiterating the circumstances that constitute prima facie evidence of the illegal use of electricity,” it said. |
| Country | Philippines , South Eastern Asia |
| Industry | Energy & Power |
| Entry Date | 03 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=meralco-targets-energizing-10000-urban-poor-households-by-duterte&8217s-100th-day&id=132511 |
