THE ENERGY Regulatory Commission (ERC) will issue a modified extension of the no disconnection policy that will last until the end of the year.
ERC chairman Saturnino Juan explained that the commission is set to issue a directive that will allow the extended no disconnection policy until the end of December, but only for consumers who have settled their previous due billings from May to October.
This was after electric cooperatives appealed to the ERC not to extend the no disconnection policy, as many consumers have not paid their electricity bill since May.
The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca) said 18 coops have collectibles reaching P2.59 billion from consumers who have not paid their bills since May.
Philreca executive director Janeene Colingan said the group asked ERC to direct consumers to pay their due bills before they can avail of the extension of the no disconnection policy.
Juan said the commission understands that electric cooperatives need to collect from consumer-members in order to be able to pay power suppliers and continue the delivery of uninterrupted electricity to customers. (ABS-CBN News)
