Iloilo City ‘jumpers’ seen as cause of fire
AN estimated 30,000 fire incidents were caused by illegal electricity connections, also known as ‘jumpers’ in Iloilo City for the past 10 years, according to village leaders in the city.
According to Iloilo East Baluarte Barangay Chairman Gary Patnubay, “jumpers” were the main cause of the fires and about 30 to 40 percent of his constituents were involved in illegal connections.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Iloilo City recorded nearly 3,000 cases of electricity pole fires in the past five years under the previous utility provider, Panay Electric Cooperative ( PECO), many of which were caused by illegal electricity connections.
Patnubay said that with the entry of MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power), the company initiated a program to legalize the illegal connections by making it easy for the residents of the villages to apply for connections.
MORE Power has tracked down about 3,000 illegal power connections in Iloilo City.
“For the last week, we were able to apprehend or catch 3,000 illegal connections,” MORE Power project manager Ariel Castañeda said in a virtual briefing held Tuesday.
Of the total number, Castañeda said more than 1,000 of those applied for a new electricity connection with the power utility.
Some 600 new applications went to the city engineer to submit requirements for a new service connection while the other 400 already paid the application fee.
MORE Power has established a one-stop shop to process the application for regular power connection accounts within 10-12 days.
The Iloilo City government and MORE Power have vowed to go after the electricity thieves and illegal power connections, which prompted a surge in the province’s electricity rates over the last few years.
MORE Power previously stated there are approximately 30,000 illegal connections in Iloilo City.
It is receiving two to three reports of illegal electricity connections on a daily basis.
MORE Power president Roel Castro said the huge number of illegal power connections in the city is the biggest factor behind the high electricity rates.
“The proliferation of illegal connections in the city, which has been a problem since the time of the previous distribution utility, drives up system losses which are actually paid for legitimate consumers,” Castro said.
He also cited the possibility that several syndicates operate in the city that sell illegal power connections.
“(It is) possible (that it is committed by an) organized group. It’s already (a business) negosyo na. Kanya-kanyang franchise din sila, kanya kanyang area (The syndicates have their assigned areas, or franchise so to speak). We have already identified them and in due time we will deal with them,” he added. .