Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi calls on other government agencies to ensure the settlement of their outstanding obligations with electric cooperatives as part of the energy family’s continuing initiatives to provide efficient electricity services for all.
“Being part of the government, we need to be earnest in pursuing energy-resiliency and efficiency. In order to attain our energy goals, it is important that we are all able to uphold our commitment to our stakeholders and service providers,” Sec. Cusi said.
He emphasized, “As we’ve been pushing for massive electrification, energy efficiency and security of the country, I am pleading on behalf of the distribution utilities (DUs), including the electric cooperatives (ECs), for the concerned government institutions to settle their outstanding accounts. DUs and ECs collect revenue to generate cash flow that would enable them to provide efficient and sustainable services to the areas they serve.”
The DOE, through a memorandum signed by Undersecretary Alexander S. Lopez, coordinated with the respective heads of the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, and National Bureau of Investigation on the settlement of delinquent accounts payable to distribution utilities and electric cooperatives, with a total amount of PhP 17 million.
The unsettled payment is one of the challenges that may lead to weak and unstable operational performance. This implies incurring issues that involve DUs’ and institutions’ negligence in their collection mechanisms.
Data from the National Electrification Administration indicate that outstanding accounts need to be settled with 23 ECs. These cooperatives are located in Regions I (1 EC), IV (5 ECs), V (2 ECs), VI (1 EC), VIII (3 ECs), IX (2 ECs), XI (1 EC), XII (5 ECs), and CARAGA (3 ECs) respectively.
The entire energy family continues to assure the public that it will closely monitor the accountability of the DUs and government institutions in fulfilling their respective obligations.
