Electric co-ops ask virus body to clarify billing grace period

posted October 25, 2020 at 07:50 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
https://manilastandard.net/business/power-technology/337742/electric-co-ops-ask-virus-body-to-clarify-billing-grace-period.html

Electric cooperatives asked the government to clarify the grace period on bill payment by consumers during the community quarantine period, saying a longer period will have a negative impact on their cashflow and the entire electricity supply chain.

The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. and the National Association of General Managers of Electric Cooperatives Inc., in a letter addressed to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease dated Oct. 3, sought clarification on the implementation of Section 4 of Republic Act No. 11494 or the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.”

The groups said the first part of the provision mandated “institutions providing electric, water, telecommunications and other similar utilities to implement a minimum of 30-day-grace period for the payment of utilities falling due within the period of enhanced community quarantine or Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine without incurring interests, penalties”.

The group said, however, that in the last sentence of the section, “CQ” alone was used instead of ECQ or MECQ. The same wording of CQ was used by the DOE when it issued advisory on Sept. 23.

PHILRECA and NAGMEC said that if CQ be interpreted as any type of community quarantine which would include the least restrictive ones like GCQ and MGCQ, this would have a huge economic impact to the entire electric power supply chain.

“In the case of distribution utilities, specifically the electric cooperatives, the prolonged grace period-and the staggered payment of not less than three months to be implemented after that-will certainly affect our operating capital,” they said.

Electric cooperatives said they could only absorb so much in terms of a decreased or no cashflow that might result from the mandatory grace period or staggered payments.

The first series of grace period and staggered payments was implemented starting April when ECQ was first declared. The installments, in addition to the extension of due dates, were in effect until September.

“While the electric cooperatives themselves will be given reprieve on their payment to generation companies and other suppliers and creditors, they still have to manage their operations, hence, their operational expenses,” the letter read.

PHILRECA and NAGMEC said the ECs’ share in the electricity bill paid by consumers only involved 20 percent of the total, with the rest of the payment remitted to power suppliers, transmission, government taxes and other pass-thru charges.

PHILRECA and NAGMEC said any issuances should be clear and consider and balance the interest and welfare of the entire energy value chain.