Pantabangan in the dark due to unpaid bills

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TUESDAY, 24 JULY 2012 19:29 ZAFF SOLMERIN / CORRESPONDENT

RESIDENTS in Pantabangan town in Nueva Ecija, host to one of the biggest dams in the country, were denied electricity services since noon Monday by the First Gen Hydro Power Corp. (FGHPC) because of P80 million worth of unpaid bills since 2007. 

The balance includes interest accrued since that year.

The FGHPC cut off the power supply of the municipal government-owned Pantabangan Municipal Electric Services (Pames) because of the latter’s failure to make the scheduled payment of P7 million due on June 30, 2012, despite the reasonable extension granted upon the municipality’s request.

Dennis Gonzales, FGHPC vice president, said they have been negotiating with Pames since the latter first ran into arrears in 2007.

Gonzales said they continued to supply Pames despite their continuing non-payment, and the expiry of the power supply contract since December 2008.

Gonzales said they also accommodated Pames previously by offsetting their arrears against FGHPC’s local taxes, which Pames reneged on.

Gonzales said they entered into a debt-restructuring agreement in accordance with payment schedules which the municipal government itself proposed.

Pames, according to Gonzales, failed to perform their obligations under the restructuring agreement.

“We are duty bound to ensure the continuing viability of our operations for the benefit not only of our stakeholders, but our other paying customers. We have continuously expressed our willingness to assist Pames in looking for an alternative source of their power supply. We are also looking at ways to provide temporary power to some public schools in Pantabangan, in the meantime,” Gonzales said.

“We were constrained to take such measure after Pames, once again, failed to honor its obligations under the terms of a March 16, 2012 restructuring agreement to settle the more than P80 million it owes to the power generating firm,” the FGHPC official said.

The FGHPC owns and operates the Pantabangan-Masiway Hydroelectric Complex and supplies power to Pames.

“We have been trying to hold off on the decision to cut off power supply to Pames, but we cannot afford to delay this action anymore, as we also have a responsibility to keep our operations viable considering that FGHPC also supplies power to two other electric cooperatives, a government agency and an industrial customer.  We trust that the residents of Pantabangan will understand our decision.  We are, in the meantime, exploring various options as to how we can assist in providing temporary electrical supply to critical institutions, such as the public schools in Pantabangan,” the power firm said.

According to FGHPC, Pames also has an outstanding obligation to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) of P26.3 million as of December 31, 2011.

On February 8, 2012, the FGHPC sent a disconnection notice to Pames but held off after Pantabangan Mayor Romeo Borja Sr. appealed to the power firm for an extension. This was followed by a debt-restructuring agreement.

The terms of the re-payment schedule the FGHPC deemed acceptable were as follows:  P7 million, as well as the total amount due for the billing period February 26-March 25, 2012, by March 31, 2012; P7 million on or before June 30, 2012; P14 million on or before December 31, 2012; P7 million on or before March 31, 2013; P14 million on or before December 31, 2013; and full payment of remaining balance of P31.2 million on or before March 31, 2014.  

(With Paul Anthony Isla)   source