THE Department of Energy (DoE) asked local government units (LGUs) to extend the deadline for the payments of taxes, dues, and other obligations by energy facilities in their jurisdictions.
In a statement over the weekend, the DoE said it has ordered the energy industry, LGUs and power consumers to observe the current guidelines on the deferment of payments within the sector following the extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to April 30.
“Having access to power services is extremely critical during this national public health emergency, so we hope that these guidelines will allay at least some of the worries of the members of the energy family,” DoE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) released an advisory on Wednesday allowing power consumers to pay their deferred bills in installments starting mid-May until September.
The deferred amounts, it said, will appear as separate items in their bills in the succeeding months.
The ERC also advised consumers that the collection of the feed-in-tariff allowance (FiT-All), which they also pay as part of their electricity bills, is still suspended for the next billing period.
Aside from power consumers, all public and private power corporations were also granted a similar grace period on paying their dues, universal charges, total trading amounts, and other relevant charges falling within the ECQ period.
This includes payments due to the National Power Corp., the National Transmission Corp., the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, the Power Sector and Liabilities Management Corp., the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, as well as the fuel or resource suppliers of generating facilities and independent power producers. — Adam J. Ang
