The Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) will ask the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to let the consumers pay for the capital expenditure for their P78 million underground cable line project.
Recovering the capital expenditure from the consumers for the project will help Veco to improve its services, said Thersa Sederiosa, Veco corporate communications manager.
Veco has already inaugurated the first phase of its underground distribution system (UDS) project covering the one-kilometer stretch from Fuente Osmeña Circle to the Cebu Provincial Capitol.
“As of this moment, there are no charges applied to the consumers. The ERC has only approved the project cost yet, and they still have to identify how much the charges will be,” Sederiosa said.
“If the charges will be applied to all the consumers then I’m sure that it will only be in a small amount,” she said.
“It’s also a safety issue with this underground system. There will be less danger and interruption,” Sederiosa added.
The phase two of the project which will be from Fuente Osmeña Boulevard to P. del Rosario St. will start early next year.
Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival also said during the City Council session yesterday that telecommunications groups, utilities and the ERC should include the City Council when public hearings would be conducted.
Also, the hearing and consultation should also include the barangay level.
The City Council is also asking Veco to furnish them a copy if an application is filed at the ERC to recover the capital expenditure.
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