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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Pantawid Liwanag To Serve Over 50,000 DASURECO Lifeline Consumers

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Davao del Sur:        About 53,500 lifeline consumers of Digos City-based Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DASURECO), will benefit from the Pantawid Liwanag program that aims to subsidize the two-month bills of the poor consumers amid the public health crisis.

DASURECO OIC-General Manager Ferdinand Canastra announced that the coop’s Board of Directors have approved that lifeline member-consumer-owners (MCOs) with one-kilowatt hour to 30kwh power consumption per month will be exempted from paying their bills for the months of March and April this year.

The Pantawid Liwanag intends to ease the financial burden of the poor consumers who are the most affected sector by the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Canastra explained during DASURECO’s Facebook page live public briefing on Monday (April 20).

He further explained that per Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) definition, the lifeline MCOs are those presumed to belong to the poorest of the poor who are given electric bill discounts.

In the COVID-19 crisis, DASURECO is among the electric cooperatives nationwide which are extending more assistance to their lifeline MCOs through the Pantawid Liwanag program.

He said the decision to set the free electric bill at 30kwh and below was based on the proper evaluation on the financial capacity of the cooperative.

“We looked at the financial standing of the coop. We can only allow up to 30kwh. But other electric cooperatives proposed for a 15kwh which is way below the 30kwh,” he bared.

“This is our help for the poorest of the poor who need assistance through the Pantawid Liwanag program. This is based on the rules under the Energy Regulatory Commission.”

However, Canastra revealed that the assistance would cost the coop an estimated loss of income worth P8 million.

“Of course it is a big loss for the coop because this will be charged to the operations (expenses). Meaning, this amount will not anymore be collected from the said consumers,” he stated.

With the expected loss of revenues, the DASURECO official said that the coop has to implement austerity measures such as purchasing only essential materials and supplies for the maintenance and repair, citing fast moving materials needed by the 24/7 linemen for line clearings from time to time.

As of now, the electric cooperative is serving 167,396 member-consumer-owners in the provinces of Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental.

The Pantawid Liwanag is a corporate social responsibility program by the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (PHILRECA) that targets poor electricity consumers affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles has earlier announced that some three million poor Filipino consumers would benefit from the said electricity subsidy program. (PIA-XI/Carina L. Cayon)

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