Tabuk City, Kalinga – The Kalinga Electric Cooperative (KAELCO) has renewed its appeal for consumers to pay their electricity bills on time, warning that delayed collections could affect the cooperative's ability to settle its obligations with power suppliers and, in the worst-case scenario, put Kalinga's power supply at risk.
The appeal was made by KAELCO General Manager Elvie T. Joven during the regular session of the Tabuk City Council on July 7, where she explained the financial challenges faced by the electric cooperative.
Power suppliers require prompt payment
Joven explained that while consumers are given time to pay their monthly electricity bills, KAELCO must settle its obligations with power suppliers within strict deadlines, regardless of whether it has already collected payments from all its consumers.
Power suppliers generate and sell electricity to distribution utilities such as KAELCO, while the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) transmits electricity through the national grid before it reaches homes and businesses in Kalinga.
As the province's electric cooperative, KAELCO is responsible for paying these suppliers on time to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of electricity to its consumers.
Delayed collections put KAELCO under pressure
Joven said the cooperative comes under immediate financial pressure once billing statements from its power suppliers are received because payment deadlines are strictly enforced.
She warned that failure to settle these obligations on time could result in penalties and, in the worst-case scenario, the disconnection of KAELCO's power supply, potentially causing a province-wide blackout.
“Diay nabigla, ti umuna nga mabigla, nu matanggap mi diay bills ti power supplier, ket dakami metlang idiay office. Nagdakellan daytoy obligation nga kailangan nga bayadan mi kenni power supplier kasi very strict da idiay deadlines of payments. So, once nga haan kami makabayad, mapenalty kami and ada ti possibility na nga they disconnect us, ket syempre sapasap nu ti power supply ti agdisconnect," Joven emphasized.
On-time payments benefit all consumers
Joven explained that prompt payment of electricity bills benefits not only KAELCO but also its consumers, adding that timely payments allow the cooperative to avail itself of prompt payment discounts offered by power suppliers, helping reduce the generation charge, which forms part of consumers' monthly electricity bills.
However, because KAELCO's payment to suppliers often becomes due before it has collected all consumers' payments, the cooperative is sometimes forced to find other means to settle its obligations and maintain an uninterrupted power supply.
The KAELCO officer explained that electric cooperatives are also required to maintain at least two months' worth of working capital as a financial buffer—a requirement that becomes increasingly difficult to sustain when consumers habitually pay beyond the due date.
“So, idiay nga punto, kayat mi nga ipakaawat nga didjay bayadan mi pay for the month is haan mi pay nga macollect 100% before nga agdue didjay bill to the supplier. Isunga, we agreed on a remedy just to avail of the payment discount that mangibaba pay bassit iday generation rate, and it is required nga every electric cooperative at least adda koma ti two months nga working capital na tapno adda ti kasla buffer. Ngem nu tuloy-tuloy nga kasta ti behavior ti payments from the consumers, baka haan to nga masustain dayta,” Joven added.
Joven emphasized that paying electricity bills on or before the due date is not only a financial obligation but also a way of helping ensure a stable and reliable power supply for the entire province.
The officer appealed to consumers to continue supporting KAELCO by paying promptly, saying every on-time payment helps the cooperative avoid penalties, secure supplier discounts, and keep electricity rates as low as possible.
“Makipangpangasi kami from the payment from the consumers, tapno ti kasta mabayadan tayo on time, maavail mi dagijay discount tayo nga itited da tapno makatulong pay nga mangibaba idiay generation rate charge,” she said.
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