NAGA CITY -- Recently reorganized, the new management of Camarines Sur II Electric Cooperative (CASURECO II) faces a latest challenge in its effort to restore normalcy in the controversial electric cooperative—the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) fresh order for CASURECO II to refund its P21 million power overcharge to member-consumers starting this month.

        Through Executive Director Atty. Francis Saturnino C. San Juan, ERC has ordered CASURECO II OIC-General Manager Jane T. Barrameda to proceed with the implementation of the refund despite the motion for reconsideration filed to ERC by the electric cooperative.

        San Juan said the order asking CASURECO II to take immediate action on the refund is according to ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure which says a motion for reconsideration does not impede the carrying out of a previous decision.

        Domingo C. Yu, CASURECO II Consumers Movement President, told Bicol Mail that his group was happy that ERC acted ‘finally’ on their demand that the electric cooperative should refund the power overcharge, which was ordered by ERC as early as 2005.

        In 2005, ERC ruled out that the electric cooperative should refund immediately on the next billing month the P21, 006 858.93 power overcharge at the rate of P0.118 kWh for 14 months or until the time the full amount is refunded to members-consumers.

        But the electric cooperative filed a motion for reconsideration and subsequently declined to implement the refund until the ERC had a final decision on the case.

        ERC has not yet decided on the motion for reconsideration filed by CASURECO II. This prompted CASURECO II Consumer’s Movement in 2006 to request the Ombudsman to step into the case.

        The ERC-proven power overcharge was the result of a previous generation rate adjustment mechanism (GRAM) of CASURECO II which resulted in ‘over-recovery’ instead of compensating for the electric cooperative’s alleged ‘under-recovery.’