Enough has been said about the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative Inc. . It has charged its customers among the highest electricity rates in the country. It delivers unreliable and spotty service that has undermined the economic potentials of the community it is supposed to serve.
During this hearing, Rep. Maricar Zamora argued that the area’s “tourism center” should be served by a private utility: Davao Light and Power Co. She refers to Samal Island, which is not part of her constituency. Strangely, however, Rep. Zamora insists that her own district ought to remain with Nordeco – despite the glaring disparities in power costs and service reliability. She justifies retaining her district under Nordeco on the strange excuse that she had not heard her constituents “clamor” for a new service provider and that the malfunctioning power cooperative must be given a chance to improve.
This particular cooperative exemplifies the general trend. It does not have the magnitude of operations necessary to achieve economies of scale. Many of our electric cooperatives need to merge and consolidate to achieve better utility economics. Everybody hates coal plants – despite new technology that lowers the pollution they create. The so-called “woke” crowd hates nuclear technology – despite technological gains in improving their safety.
Recently, Meralco announced it is exploring the viability of modular nuclear power plants to boost its supply in the face of rapid industrialization coupled with rising household demand. Just to start this article on a positive note, I’m sure that people of faith and skeptics alike all wonder every now and then about how true scriptures are. Are they just religious promises or is there really...