CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY —The management of the debt-ridden Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative is looking forward to strike a better deal with the Power Sector Asset and Liability Management (PSALM) Corporation for continued power supply despite the unsettled P12.8 billion debt.
The unpaid bills has accumulated since year 2000 as LASURECO explained “Only 15 to 20 percent of total powers consumers in 2017 have power meters and many of their consumers do not have power meter and they cannot pay their bills, there also instances that the consumer just refused to pay their bills which resulted to the gargantuan debt.
Dr. Nordjana Dipatuan-Ducol, general Manager of LASURECO told Newsline “When I assured office in 2017, the bill has already snowballed and the P12.8 billion includes that interest but the unpaid bills is only P6.9 billion.”
The Marawi siege in 2017 has also affected the collection efficiency.
According to Ducol, she together with Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong and other local officials have initially talked with PSALM officers to find ways to settle the bill to avoid the disruption of power supply.
The Lasureco is supplying power to the 27 municipalities and Marawi City “IF our power supply will be cut-off basic services and utilities will suffer like hospital operations, schools and other vital facilities,” Ducol emphasized.
On June 1, 2022, the PSALM has already notified Lasureco of the impending cut off should the power cooperative failed to settle the bill.
According to Ducol, when she assumed as general manager “Many consumers have power connections but they do not have the power meter, so we installed meters to their residences and it is continuing until now.”
She called on the power consumer “Sana magbayad na tayo lahat kasi pagmaputolan tayo, lahat tayo walang kuryente (Hope that everyone of us pays our bill, because once the power is cut off everyone does not have power supply).-Bobby Lagsa
