Electric coops to lose prompt payment discount

ILIGAN CITY — Effective December 2005, Transmission Corp. (Transco) and Generation Corp. (Genco) will remove the Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) to 119 Electric Cooperatives in the country.

Engineer Resnol Torres, general manager of Lanao del Norte Electric Cooperative (LANECO), said that electric cooporatives are currently paying an average of P50 million per month or an estimated P5.950 billion in total revenue.

The amount generated from PPDs is supposed to be utilized for line expansion projects to far flung barangays to serve potential electric consumers in the hinterlands, Torres said.

In an official notice signed by Transco President Dr. Allan Ortiz, Transco said it is compelled to implement the removal of PPD from its billing and collection policy.

This adheres to the provision of the Energy Regulatory Commission-approved Transmission Wheeling Rates Guidelines (TWRG) and the Open Access Transmission Service (OATS) rules, terms and conditions.

The ECs are mandated to pay their monthly billing on-line. — Richel Umel