NEA adds guidelines on writing-off lost, destroyed power bills
THE NATIONAL Electrification Administration (NEA) has issued additional guidelines on writing-off uncollected power bills that have been lost or destroyed due to natural calamities and man-made disasters.
In a memorandum posted on its website on Tuesday, NEA said the new regulations were added after an electric cooperative in Lanao del Sur requested to write-off electric bills whose records were deemed lost due to the armed conflict which took place in Marawi City in 2017.
The guidelines will be added to NEA’s earlier memo on the “Revised Guidelines for Writing-Off Worthless Consumer Accounts Receivables as Amended,” which was issued on Oct. 27, 2020.
Accounts qualified for write-off now include those whose physical or electronic copies are lost or damaged due to typhoons, earthquakes, floods, war, robbery and acts of terrorism, among others, the agency said.
Requests for canceling certain accounts must be approved by the cooperative’s board, which will issue a resolution stating the amount that will be waived and the circumstances of the loss or damage.
“The amount to be written-off, as proven by the required evidence presented, shall be limited and shall be applicable only to power bills that were lost on the date of declaration of the state of calamity or occurrence of the… unforeseen or fortuitous events and other circumstances,” NEA said.
The addendum will take effect 15 days after it is filed with the University of the Philippines Law Center.
The Oct. 27 revised guidelines were issued for electric cooperatives with receivables from consumers that have “unrealistically accumulated over the years.” — Angelica Y. Yang
