The Energy Regulatory Commission will hold a hearing on the application of Central Negros Electric Cooperative to be allowed to collect P414.6 million in under-recoveries from its consumers, at the CENECO Annex building in Bacolod City at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Arnel Lapore, CENECO president, said the hearing was supposed to be held at the ERC Main Office in Manila but was cancelled and postponed upon the request of the intervenors and oppositors who want it held in Bacolod.

He said ERC people are coming to Bacolod tomorrow and, based on the order, this will be a pre-trial and trial hearing.

ERC had conducted a juridical hearing on the application of CENECO in Bacolod in June 8, 2012 that was presided over by Orlando Gomez of the ERC.

CENECO’s application was opposed by the City Government of Bacolod, and BAYAN Negros, with the intervention of the Social Action Center and other concerned consumer groups.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia, representing the City of Bacolod, had also filed an opposition on April 25, 2012 to the application of CENECO, to be allowto collect under-recoveries totaling P414.6 million.

Leonardia asked ERC to issue an order directing CENECO to conduct consultations with consumer members and explain the purpose, reason and effect of the application for under-recovery of P414.6 million as this will be charged to, and collected from the consumer members, as well as to explain the details of its composition, and how much the over/under recovery in every year, from 2004 to 2011.

Meanwhile, Lapore said a team from the ERC conducted a site inspection of their 5 MVA substation in Had. Panaogao in Silay City last week.

He said this is part of the process for determining the merit of their petition for Capital Expenditures in building up the sub-station which is quite strategic because of the demand of the Bacolod-Silay Airport for power and the mushrooming development in the area.

Lapore said there are housing and commercial establishments building up in the area near the airport.*CGS

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