BORACAY – With electric bills unpaid during stricter community quarantine periods beginning March of this year, consumers sought understanding and compassion from the Aklan Electric Cooperative (Akelco).
Malay, Aklan Sangguniang Bayan member Ralf Tolosa asked the sole power distributor in Aklan to relax its disconnection policy on delinquent consumers.
“Kahit sana nitong Christmas at New Year, wala munang disconnections,” he said, pointing out that consumers in mainland Malay and Boracay Island continue to suffer from the economic fallout of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) advisory on Oct. 29, 2020 directed the utilities not to implement any disconnection of electricity from non-payment of bills by consumers with monthly consumption not higher than twice the approved ERC maximum lifeline consumption level.
Electric consumers consuming 40 kilowatt hours (kWh) and below – the maximum lifeline consumption level of Akelco – from Sept. 14, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020 are exempted or cannot be disconnected from power lines in compliance with the ERC advisory.
Akelco Boracay substation manager Cheng Ocampo said the power distributor implemented the disconnection policy on Nov. 14, 2020 for people with unpaid bills who are consuming 41 kWh and above.
Member-consumers are informed of the directives through meter readers, posting in Akelco bulletins, radio and social media announcements.
“May mga consumers tayo na hindi pa nakabayad sa Akelco since December 2019 and before the pandemic. Kasama na dito ang mga consumers na despite staggered payments ang kanilang March at April 2020 billings, hindi pa rin sila makabayad,” she stressed.
Ocampo said Akelco would consider staggered payments especially from residential member-consumers./PN
