DoE: Electricity users get grace period for paying bills

By Jordeene B. Lagare April 19, 2020
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/04/19/business/sunday-business/doe-electricity-users-get-grace-period-for-paying-bills/715869/

THE Department of Energy (DoE) ordered power companies to defer their billings without imposing additional charges while Luzon is under enhanced community quarantine.

In an April 16 advisory, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said “all electricity consumers shall be provided a grace period to pay their bills falling due during the original and extended ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) periods without interest, penalties, fees and charges.”

Such bills shall be amortized in four equal installments, and payable in the first four months after the quarantine is lifted.

The advisory comes after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) released an advisory directing distribution utilities and retail electricity suppliers to give a grace period to their customers whose bills’ due dates fall between March 16 and April 30.

The cumulative amount of these bills shall be reflected as a separate item in the power bill, provided that the first billing due date after the lockdown shall be no earlier than May 15.
This also applies to all public and private corporations in the power sector, also without interest, penalties, fees and charges and payable in four installments.

The payment extension applies to those to the National Power Corp., National Transmission Corp., National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm), including power bills and rate adjustments; fuel/resource suppliers of generating facilities, including coal, oil, steam supply and natural gas; independent power producers; universal charges as administered by Psalm; and Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines Inc. of total trading amounts and other charges.

The Energy department also suspended the collection of the feed-in-tariff allowance (Fit-All) from customers for another billing period.

ERC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Agnes Devanadera said electricity users would continue to benefit from the P0.04 per kilowatt hour (kWh) reduction with the suspension of FiT-All collection.

Customers and companies are encouraged to settle their dues ahead or within the due dates to help cushion the impact of the quarantine on the sector.