POWER DEAL. A help desk is set up to disseminate information on the plebiscite for the ratification of the proposed joint venture agreement between Central Negros Electric Cooperative and Primelectric Holdings Inc./Negros Electric Power Corp in this photo taken last month. As of Friday (Sept. 1, 2023), the National Electrification Administration has terminated the remaining voting period dates of Sept. 2 and 3 after the majority of the consumer members have already voted “yes”. (PNA Bacolod file photo)
BACOLOD CITY – The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has terminated the plebiscite voting for the ratification of the proposed joint venture agreement between the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) and Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI)/Negros Electric Power Corporation (NEPC).
This after the majority of the consumer-members voted “yes” even before the polls were set to end this weekend.
NEA project supervisor Vic Alvaro said on Friday Ceneco was directed to do a final canvassing of the consolidated returns and verify the certification for submission to the NEA.
“The previously scheduled dates of September 2 and 3 voting have been canceled since it’s no longer needed. The documents, they have yet to submit to us, the official certification,” he said in a radio interview.
On Thursday, the Ceneco Board of Directors declared the conclusion of the plebiscite as authorized by NEA chief Antonio Mariano Almeda in a memorandum dated August 30.
Ceneco's coverage area includes the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Silay, and Talisay; and the towns of Don Salvador Benedicto and Murcia.
Figures released by Ceneco showed that during the sixth day of the plebiscite on August 27, some 98,591 votes, or 55.53 percent, had been counted for the “yes” to JVA.
The required number of votes was only 88,870 to reach the 50 percent plus one vote of the 177,737 eligible voters of the member-consumers of Ceneco.
The ratification process is part of the guidelines set by the NEA, following the signing of the proposed deal between Ceneco board president Jojit Yap and PHI president and chief executive officer Roel Castro on June 3 to modernize and improve power distribution in its franchise area.
The deal aims to infuse capital and financial resources into the electric cooperative’s distribution system, through the joint venture company called the NEPC.
Ceneco acting general manager Arnel Lapore said under the JVA, Ceneco will have 30 percent ownership of NEPC, which is worth more than PHP800 million, while PHI will own 70 percent equivalent to PHP1.4 billion. (PNA)
