Type Public Website Website of VECO Founded 1905 | Industry Power distributor Headquarters Cebu, Philippines Parent organization Aboitiz Equity Ventures | |
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Key people Messrs. M. Levering, A. Bryan, R. Landon and A. Pond. Profiles | ||
Visayan Electric Company, Inc., also known as VECO, is the second largest electric utility in the Philippines and serves the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay and Naga and four municipalities of the greater part of Metro Cebu - Liloan, Consolacion, Minglanillla and San Fernando. Its franchise service covers an area of about 672 square kilometers with an estimated population of 1.73 million.
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History
VECO was founded in 1905 by a group of Cebu businessmen led by Messrs. M. Levering, A. Bryan, R. Landon and A. Pond. It started with an 800 kW generating facility by the Cebu pier. By 1918 the Escaño family had acquired control and began expanding both the generation capacity and the distribution network.
During the Second World War the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) bombed all the generation units in order to deprive the occupying Japanese forces control of the network. In December 1945, with the war over, VECO was back in business delivering power to its customers.
Legislative Order
VECO was granted its legislative franchise under Act No. 3499 which was approved by the Philippine Legislature in 1928. It authorized VECO to install, operate and maintain electric light, heat and power system in the Municipalities of Cebu (now City), Talisay (now City), Minglanilla, Naga, San Fernando, Mandaue (now City), Consolacion, Liloan and Compostela. The period of existence of the franchise was for 50 years. This was subsequently extended for another 25 years by RA 6454 which took effect in 1972. In 2005, RA 9339 was signed extending the term of VECO's franchise for another 25 years. At present, VECO's franchise area covers the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay and Naga plus the municipalities of Consolacion, Liloan, Minglanilla and San Fernando.
VECO utilizes various state-of-the-art technologies in its operations to improve its efficiency and service. It uses a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system to monitor and control its electric distribution assets via remote control. It also has a GIS (Geographic Information System) to map and manage its facilities.
In early 2005, VECO opened a full service center at SM City Cebu with a Call Center equipped with Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone system integrated with a Customer Relation Management System (CRMS). A second, albeit smaller, full service center also opened in Talisay City in 2007 to attend to the needs of customers in the southern part of the franchise area. VECO is owned and managed by publicly listed Aboitiz Power Corporation (PSE: AP) and Vivant Corporation. Approximately 800 individual shareholders comprise the VECO shareholders' roster.