DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PNA) – Businessmen in Negros Oriental are deploring what they claim as an "energy cartel" by big players in the power industry.

Roy Cang of Bethel Guest House described what he said was a “deplorable personal experience” with his electric bill covering the period February to May this year, which increased by over 25 percent against the usual rate prior to the privatization of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), now known as the Energy Development Corp. (EDC).

The power rate issue dominated discussions on the provincial review and assessment of two pending petitions for salary increases conducted Friday last week in Dumaguete by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) and the Department of Labor and Employment (D0LE) in Negros Oriental.

Statistics presented by RTWPB board secretary Grace Carreon during the validation of data, costing and prices indicated that in the entire Region 7, Negros Oriental has the highest inflation rate, with 4.5 percent in May this year, as opposed to last year’s 2.9 percent hike for the same period.

Negros Oriental also has the highest consumer price index (CPI, which measures changes in the price level of consumer goods and services bought by households) , that is, 194.4 percent, which is higher than the 178.5 percent CPI of the entire region. It also has the lowest purchasing power of the peso at 51 centavos against the region's 54 centavos.

Even the liquefied petroleum gas in Negros Oriental is P47 higher than what consumers in Cebu pay for while unleaded gasoline in the province is at least 3 percent higher than how the commodity costs Cebu.

In view of this situation, local businessmen in the province can not help but be suspicious of the existence of an energy cartel operating in the region, beleaguered as they are in having to additionally bear the burden of having to pay for the highest cost of arrastre, other than the aforementioned cost of power.