Lanao co-op cuts off delinquent users

MANILA, Philippines - A total of 27 municipalities and more than 20,000 individual consumers will again suffer from power outages as the Lanao del Sur Cooperative (Lasureco) has decided to cut their respective power connections due to failure to pay their obligations.

The disconnection is expected to take effect immediately.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla last week, Lasureco said it has no choice after it already deferred the disconnection during the Holy Month of Ramadhan, which ended mid-August.

“We have again embarked on a massive disconnection of delinquent member-consumers numbering 27 municipalities and soon to be followed by more than 20,000 individual member-consumers,” said Lasureco general manager Sultan Ashary Maongco.

In July, Lasureco already disconnected 37 municipalities with arrears but local government officials demanded to be reconnected on the condition that they would pay their bills.

“We agreed on condition that they would pay their bills based on the “pakyaw” system on or before July 4, 2013, but sad to say, they did not honor their promise. We have no choice now but to disconnect them again,” Maongco said.

He said the cooperative’s debt problem cannot be resolved without the cooperation of the individual member-consumers.

Lasureco has installed individual meters, whether clustered or not, and transformer metering for those who agreed with the arrangement. It is ironic that member-consumers now resist paying their power consumptions when they have been properly billed.

He said Lasureco has the lowest rates in the entire Mindanao area, and yet member-consumers still refuse to pay their bills. The cooperative has the mandate and authority to disconnect delinquent member-consumers. This is not being deliberately done. It is for the survival of the cooperative.

In spite of the resistance of member-consumers, the cooperative continues to implement the rehabilitation program.

“There is no stopping the management and staff of the cooperative from doing what is best for the people of Lanao,” he said.

Last month, the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) had been disconnected from the main grid because of mounting debts, plunging Albay into darkness. It was reconnected the following day upon the intercession of Petilla and after the cooperative agreed to disconnect their top 100 delinquent accounts.