‘Lifeline’ electricity users won’t be charged for March, April —IATF

“Lifeline” electricity users nationwide will no longer be charged for March and April, the inter-agency task force on COVID-19 response said Wednesday. 

Covered by the program are three million poor customers with an electricity consumption of less than 50 kilowatt hours each month, IATF spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a televised briefing.

The program is under the Pantawid Liwanag initiative of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (PHILRECA), which was made to curb the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poorest of the poor.

Electric cooperatives earlier implemented a 30-day payment extension to electricity consumers and the cancellation of surcharges on late payments and power disconnections for consumers who failed to pay on time. 

At least 90 electric cooperatives in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao have already implemented the 30-day grace period for consumers to settle their electricity bills, according to the National Electrification Administration. —KG, GMA News