USEC. Pete Ilagan Challenges FRECOR 8 and DIRECTOR 8 to lower electricity rates in Region 8.       

Catbalogan City-  Continuing with his consumer welfare advocacy, former National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (NASECORE) President, now Department of Energy Undersecretary, Petronilo “Pete” Ilagan, challenged the members of the Federation of Rural Electric Cooperatives of Region VIII (FRECOR 8) and the Directors of Electric Cooperative in Region VIII (DIRECTOR 8) to lower the electricity rates in the region as a paramount form of public service to the electric consumers.

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USEC Ilagan, who is a native Leyteno, fostered the holding of the seminar to encourage the electric cooperatives in the region to take to heart the interest and welfare of the consumers and to truly render them high quality public service. “I want us to be more focused on Public Service because our consumers are the owners of the cooperative, and quality public service is what we owe to them,” USEC Ilagan exhorted FRECOR 8 and DIRECTOR 8.  The seminar focused on the steps that electric coops should take to address the 5-point agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte on electrification, namely: 1. Access to Electricity for All; 2. Power Availability at all times 3. Power Reliability, 4. System Efficiency and 5. Cheap Electricity Rate.

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NEA is a government agency tasked to strengthen its partners in the rural electrification and provide financial, technical and institutional assistance to all electric cooperative all over Philippines, while the ERC is an electric power industry regulator tasked with promoting and protecting the interests of consumers

 and other stakeholders in the power industry. The Department of Energy is mandated to prepare, integrate, coordinate, supervise and control all plans, programs, projects and activities of the Government relative to energy exploration, development, utilization, distribution and conservation. These three (3) government agencies/offices work hand in hand together with the electric cooperatives to attain the best quality public service that can be given to the consumers.

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USEC. Pete Ilagan was the main speaker during a two-day Seminar on Public Service and Electric Cooperatives-Distribution Utility Regulatory Framework held in Catbalogan City last February 9 to 10, 2017. The other resource speakers of the seminar were Ms. Regina R. Genosas, Senior Development Officer – National Electrification Administration (NEA), Atty Xerxes D. Adzuara, Department Manager of Legal Services & Administrative Committee – NEA, and Edmudo P. Aguilar, Chief of Industrial Relations Development – NEA.  The resource speakers from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) were Ms. Leila O. Cirio and Mr. Glicerio C. Amparo, Jr., both Supervising Energy Regulatory Officers of the ERC.