Olongapo issued final disconnection notice

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines -  Olongapo City  may soon be powerless  after  the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., (PSALM) issued a final notice of disconnection to the city  owing to its failure to pay for its power liabilities amounting to P5.08 billion.

Olongapo City current vice mayor and mayor-elect Rolen Paulino read the notice of disconnection during their session Wednesday.

In the letter signed by chief executive officer Emanuel Ledesma Jr., PSALM   told Olongapo City to  "immediately comply/settle" its outstanding obligation as of May 31 within five days from receipt of notice.

It added that “failure to do so shall result [in] the disconnection of your facility from the transmission/distribution network by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippine (NGCP)."

Olongapo has recently sold its Public Utilities Department (PUD) which is in charge of the power distribution and collection of the city to Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company (CEPALCO).

In February the Department of Energy has already warned Olongapo city that it would be cut off from the grid owing to its P4.6-billion power debt before election.

Energy Secretary Jericho  Petilla said  Olongapo has incurred P4 billion in electric debt with Power Sector Asset and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM) and added that PSALM is ‘poised to issue’ a notice of disconnection in February.

When the issue went public in February Olongapo City Administrator Ferdie Magrata issued a statement saying “that the debt was caused by supplying power to the PNP and the schools in the city.”

“Do we just cut off the power of these national agencies just because they can’t pay? We can’t just do that. They are providing a vital service for the community,” he said.

Magrata added that the report was part of a smear campaign to discredit Mayor James Gordon Jr.