THE Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO), the Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative (KAELCO) and the Mountain Province Electric Cooperative (MOPRECO) are among an aggregate of electric cooperatives that the National Electrification Administration (NEA) are probing over apparent failure to follow rules on transparency.
In addition to BENECO and KAELCO, the aggregate of cooperatives being asked to show cause include Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative, Ilocos Sur Electric Cooperative, La Union Electric Cooperative, Pangasinan 1 Electric Cooperative, and Sorsogon 1 Electric Cooperative.
According to the NEA, the cooperatives were directed to report and explain the “highly irregular” competitive selection process (CSP) undertaken for the purchase of aggregated power requirements totaling 130 megawatts (MW).
The NEA said that the cooperatives’ joint third party bids and awards committee declared two failed biddings on June 14 and December 9 of last year, when the bidders were found short of the requirements as described in the terms of reference. This led to the cooperatives resorting to direct negotiation as sanctioned under a Department of Energy circular and a NEA memorandum.
“However, despite the successive failures of the participating bidders in the conducted CSPs to comply with the project’s specifications, the aggregation still limited negotiations with them,” the NEA said.
Investigation also found that the group of cooperatives had already issued a notice of award for the implementation of the project despite failure to inform NEA of the development.
Said actions led to the NEA ordering the cooperatives’ officers to show cause as to why they should not be found administratively liable for having violated the pertinent laws, rules and regulations on the proper conduct and transparency for the procurement and awarding of the project.
