National Electrification Administration administrator Edgardo Masongsong appealed to local government units to address unsettled electricity bills owed to electric cooperatives, stressing the “unpaid amounts may be used to bring power to hundreds of sitios yet to be served by electricity all over the country.”
“We emphasize that this plea for payment should not be taken negatively as a reproach. Our LGUs are now in a uniquely privileged position to be instrumental not only in keeping their electric cooperatives financially afloat but in electrifying the unserved and underserved communities in their jurisdictions. They should grab this opportunity to viably partner with electric cooperatives in nation-building,” the NEA chief said.
Outstanding financial obligations of local governments to ECs across the country have ballooned to over P1.4 billion, according to latest figures from the agency.
Masongsong added the amount was on top of millions in unpaid power bills to ECs incurred by some government institutions, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, as earlier reported by the Department of Energy.