Meralco nagbabala vs. pagnanakaw ng kuryente, kable | Newsroom Ngayon - video Dailymotion

CNN Philippines

Nagbabala ang Meralco sa publikona bawal ang paggamit ng mga jumper pati na ang pagnanakaw ng kable ng kuryente.  Sabi ng kompanya, bukod sa inilalagay sa peligro ang buhay ng gumagawa ng electric theft, posible rin silang makasuhan at makulong ng hanggang labindalawang taon sa ilalim ng Anti-Electricity Pilferage Act of 1994.   Para pag-usapan 'yan, makakasama natin sa ating Serbisyo Ngayon si Meralco Spokesperson and Vice President for Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga.   Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

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00:03 Jumpers and the theft of electricity cables are still prohibited.

00:07 The company also said that they are putting their lives at risk by conducting electric theft.

00:13 They can also be charged and imprisoned under the Anti-Electricity Pilferage Act of 1994.

00:20 To discuss this and other issues in our service today, we have with us Meralco,

00:25 Spokesperson and Vice President for Corporate Communications, Joe Zaldarriaga.

00:30 You can also join us and post your questions or comments on our Facebook Live.

00:35 Good afternoon to you, Joe.

00:36 Good afternoon to you, Ruth.

00:39 And to all of our viewers in CNN Philippines,

00:43 I am here to give information on the topic of today's program.

00:48 Let's start with what we mentioned earlier about your program, Urban Blight.

00:53 I think that's your response to the wires that are hanging outside.

00:59 But there are many reasons why there are such things.

01:02 Please explain to us, Joe.

01:04 The Urban Blight campaign of Meralco, with our cooperation with the government,

01:11 particularly with the local government units,

01:13 is trying to separate the facilities of our electricity.

01:21 The same is true for our partners, particularly the telcos, cables, etc.

01:27 We noticed that during the pandemic, the lines were suddenly cut off

01:35 and were placed in our facilities, particularly in our posts, without permission.

01:44 Ruth, they need an application or authority to attach the so-called third-party,

02:00 either telco, cable or whoever.

02:04 Please inform us so that they can have a permission to cut the lines in our facilities.

02:12 Not only in our facilities, but also in the local government units down to the barangay level.

02:19 Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, there was a problem in terms of, one, monitoring these,

02:27 two, ensuring that these third-party partners of Meralco will be implemented.

02:38 But we are now addressing that very closely.

02:41 In fact, I was there earlier with our people in the networks who inspected and worked

02:49 so that our facilities, if we need to replace the post, we replace it.

02:56 If we need to remove the lines, we remove them.

03:00 But unfortunately, in the process, there were some who were affected by the issue.

03:05 We have to implement the policy that is lawfully in place.

03:13 We have to ensure public safety.

03:15 At the end of the day, that is our mandate.

03:19 While we provide 24/7 service to all our customers, to ensure the safety of the community and the general public.

03:29 You mentioned that there are big companies, you said that after the pandemic, there are more.

03:35 These are from companies, either telcos or cable companies.

03:39 But are you still seeing illegal wiring or illegal connections,

03:43 that are still causing jumpers in residential areas?

03:48 That is a different issue altogether, Ruth.

03:51 Because jumpers or illegal service connections is actually a violation of the law.

03:58 In particular, Republic Act 7832, known as the Anti-Electricity Pilferage Law of 1994.

04:05 That is a violation of the law, aside from the fine of imprisonment.

04:14 What I want to emphasize here is this,

04:17 maybe the syndicates involved in illegal connections, power pilferage,

04:27 they are putting themselves in danger, in danger.

04:34 Because if you resort to illegal connections, while you are doing the attachments,

04:39 illegal attachments, you may get into an accident.

04:42 There are instances where you may lose your life.

04:46 So we, as part of the intensification of our campaign,

04:51 we have what we call elevated metering centers in the hotspots,

04:58 so we can fix this.

05:00 And I'm happy to report that from the time we started that campaign,

05:05 we managed and controlled the pilferage.

05:10 But before, in your system, and other illegal connections,

05:17 it seems like you pay for system loss.

05:20 Yes. There are two components, Ruth, for system loss.

05:25 One is inherent in the system, which is line technical loss, as we call it.

05:30 That is the huge chunk of the system loss portion.

05:34 There is a small part, which is pilferage.

05:36 We are allowed a ceiling of up to 5.5 percent,

05:40 but over the past couple of years, we have been below the cap.

05:45 But having said that, even if we're below the cap,

05:48 at the end of the day, our mandate is to really lower the system loss level

05:53 because that redounds to savings for customers.

05:56 Whenever we lower the level of system loss,

05:59 that results in a lower rate for customers.

06:03 That's our initiative.

06:06 Even if it cannot be covered by the whole system,

06:10 we can address it with improvements in the number of pilferers that we can stop or catch.

06:23 Later, we will continue our discussion with Miralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga

06:28 in the return of "Newsroom Ngayon," here on CNN Philippines.

06:32 We will return to our service with Miralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga.

06:36 We will talk about their campaign, Urban Blight, against illegal wiring and even the theft of electricity.

06:44 I just want to go back to what I remember,

06:47 because of the wires that were exposed.

06:49 I remember what happened in Binondo, the collapsed Pose Cabacailan.

06:54 What are the reasons for such incidents?

06:57 If such incidents happen in a place, what should our countrymen do?

07:03 Thank you for the question, Ruth.

07:05 What happened in Binondo, in our initial opinion,

07:10 was the result of heavy attachments.

07:14 It seems that our facilities were not able to handle it.

07:18 But we immediately gave attention to it.

07:23 At the same day, we sent crews to the area and we fixed the damaged facilities.

07:29 We still currently have an ongoing campaign in the Binondo area

07:36 to continuously address the issue of overloading of our facilities.

07:43 This is only a wake-up call for us,

07:46 but this is an incident that made our resolve to address it once and for all.

07:56 Here, what we brought back, not only in Binondo, but in many other places,

08:03 is that these attachments are not being removed,

08:08 both in Meralco and local government units.

08:12 That is why we are addressing this now to make sure that

08:16 a similar incident in the future will not happen again.

08:19 If our countrymen notice such incidents, should they report it to you immediately?

08:24 And also, like what we saw earlier,

08:27 the post was cut off, there was a hole.

08:30 If that happens, shouldn't the electricity supply be turned off in the area?

08:36 What should they do if they notice such incidents?

08:41 We can call them. We have a hotline, 16211, in Langayen.

08:46 But we can also be accessed or reached through our social media sites.

08:51 We are on Facebook and we are on Twitter.

08:53 We also have SMS where we can be reached through text.

08:58 We have many touchpoints in Ruth where they can reach their concerns.

09:04 If they have a video, they can send it to us.

09:08 On screen is the contact information of Meralco.

09:11 There's our website, there's our Facebook account,

09:14 formerly Twitter, ex-YouTube, Instagram, email, and our hotline number.

09:21 So, hopefully, if they notice something like that,

09:24 they will let us know immediately.

09:27 Okay, lastly, Joe, the Energy Department's campaign is ongoing

09:33 regarding the Lifeline Raid Program.

09:35 The application was extended, right?

09:38 Yes.

09:39 The public is advised again what they need to do to avail them of discounts.

09:44 You're right, Ruth. I think there's a tripartite agreement on the part of the government.

09:48 As one of the distribution utilities operating in the country,

09:54 part of our mandate is to enforce what is stipulated in the law.

09:59 In this particular case, since there is a new law implementing rules and regulations as well on the Lifeline Raid,

10:09 what will happen now is that it will be extended until next year, 2024.

10:15 So our countrymen still have time to apply under the Lifeline Raid Program

10:23 so they can provide the necessary information and be included in the program.

10:29 As we speak, there are many who applied to us, almost 20,000.

10:36 The approved is almost 22,000 already.

10:40 So we will gradually include those who should be part of the program.

10:49 What will you do?

10:50 I'm urging those consuming no more than 100 kilowatt hours a month to please apply under the program.

10:58 There is a new law that is being implemented here.

11:02 Only those who should be part of the program should apply.

11:09 For others, as before Ruth, there is no distinction.

11:13 Yes.

11:14 You will not exceed 100 kilowatt hours.

11:15 Yes.

11:16 If you are part of an expensive condominium, you will be included in the program and you will receive a discount.

11:21 It's not like that anymore.

11:22 Only those who are included in the program, our poor countrymen, those in the marginalized sectors,

11:31 should only be the ones part of the program.

11:34 What will they do? Will they go to your office? What should they do? Or requirements?

11:39 They just need to fill an application form, a government ID, they need to be included in the four-piece program of the government,

11:48 or they need a certification to be part of the marginalized sector in the local social welfare development office.

11:55 These are the documents that are needed to prove that they are included in our countrymen who need help under the program.

12:07 Thank you very much, Mr. Meralco, Spokesperson and Vice President for Corporate Communications, Joe Zaldarriaga.

Meralco nagbabala vs. pagnanakaw ng kuryente, kable | Newsroom Ngayon

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