TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative has recorded an accumulated PhP241,865,900 in unpaid bills as of June 2024 and asked delinquent consumers to settle their arrears to improve the cooperative’s services.
KAELCO Board of Directors President Izaac Baliang, in a press conference at the KAELCO main building on Wednesday, said that uncollected bills are affecting the cooperative’s ability to provide better services to its member-consumers.
Baliang cited unimplemented projects and activities of the cooperative, such as the relocation of the Pinukpuk undervoltage substation, due to financial difficulties.
“Uray 50 million, nu ma-collect, nagadu ti papanan na nga materyales, ken adu ti electrification nga papanan na. Dayta ti maysa nga gapu nu apay haan nga makaang-angat ti KAELCO gapu kadagitoy uncollected bills,” Baliang said.
KAELCO record shows a total of PhP121,026,988 in unpaid bills in Tabuk City, PhP23,674,238 in Rizal, PhP20,985,827 in Pinukpuk, PhP9,900,117 in Lubuagan, PhP32,360,763 in Conner, PhP24,333,950 in Kabugao, and PhP9,584,014 in Tinglayan.
Due to accumulating arrears, Baliang said they will strictly implement the cooperative policy, especially on disconnection, to compel the collection of bills.
“Nag-atiddug ti pawayway nga maited to settle their bills,” Baliang said. Consumers who are unable to pay their bills are given a leeway of nine days and a grace period of 48 hours before the scheduled cutoff.
KAELCO management is also considering suing consumers who refuse to pay their bills.
“Adda ti action mi tadta nga kasuan mi iti korte dagidiay haan nga nagbaybayad. Ngem kunak iti management, unaen tayo dagiti agency ti government. Ken dagiti individual nga dadakkel ti konsumo na, ken karkaru ti politician. Kase adu ti politician nga involve met lang,” Baliang said.
KAELCO, serving 62,000 households in Kalinga and parts of Apayao, was an ailing electric cooperative for many years but was recently categorized as a mega-large electric cooperative, or AA, for meeting the standards set by the National Electrification Administration.
Now that the cooperative is in the AA category, KAELCO General Manager Elvie Joven said they are studying their application for a rate change to be approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission, which in turn lowers the rate for consumers.
Joven said they are also aiming for an AAA classification, which requires meeting standards for system losses, reliability, collection efficiency, financial performance, and payment of power suppliers. She said the cooperative will not be able to attain the category if the arrears remain uncollected.
For more efficient payment of bills, KAELCO advised member-consumers that they can pay their electric bills through GCash and payment centers like Lhuillier.
KAELCO is also developing a system where member-consumers can create an account and check the status of their bills online. By Rod Asurin
