THE Mactan Electric Company (Meco) has assured its consumers that pending dues since March will be collected in four tranches.
The development is an offshoot of the passage of a new resolution by the Lapu-Lapu City Council, asking the power distributor to extend consideration to its consumers amid the coronavirus disease pandemic.
The measure was filed by Councilor Rico Amores and was approved en masse.
Amores said under the resolution, consumers will start paying their dues 30 days after the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is lifted. This is to give them enough time to return to work and start their business again.
"Verbally, they (Meco) have already agreed because Mayor (Junard Chan) called them after the resolution was approved. The mayor explained and I'm happy because this will have a huge impact on our constituents," Amores said in Cebuano.
In a Facebook post dated May 14, 2020, Meco reminded its consumers that billing statements with monthly readings falling within the ECQ period from March 29 to May 11, are based on average consumption from the previous three months as prescribed under the provisions of the Distribution Services and Open Access Rules and the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers.
"In this regard, your succeeding monthly bill may be higher/ lower since this will be based on actual reading," reads a portion of the post.
The power distributor also reminded its consumers to use electricity wisely and only when needed. It also advised consumers to unplug unused appliances to conserve energy.
As this developed, the City Council also asked the Metropolitan Cebu Water District to implement the same collection scheme. (GCM, RTF)