Consumers blast Olongapo utilities

OLONGAPO CITY: A consumer advocacy group, based here, lambasted the city’s power and water companies on Monday for allegedly misleading consumers by issuing disconnection notices during the community quarantine months.

Michael Macapagal, lead convenor of SuperGapo, a consumer advocacy group strongly challenging the city’s two utility providers, told TheManilaTimes that he had declared an all-out war against the Olongapo Electricity Distribution Co. Inc. (OEDC) and Subicwater Inc. for the way they operated during a pandemic.

During a recent meeting held via teleconference between him and OEDC President Jose Abaya, Macapagal said he does “not and cannot accept OEDC’s averaging methodology when almost everybody saw a spike in their monthly bills in March, April, May and June.”

“And they have the nerve to threaten our people with disconnection. This is preposterous,” he also said during the meeting hosted by officials of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Macapagal formally asked the ERC to issue a show cause order against OEDC.

“Obviously, what’s happening in Manila is also happening here in Olongapo [with OEDC],” he said.

He noted that even President Rodrigo Duterte recently expressed his displeasure with the way electric companies had treated their customers during the pandemic.

“I’m warning OEDC, do not wait for the President to curse you,” Macapagal said.

The former son of a city mayor and ally of Duterte called for an investigation of so-called goodwill items in OEDC’s original proposal when it signed its contract with the Olongapo local government in 2014.

“I’ve asked the ERC to investigate the contract-signing, which happened in 2014. I do not trust these people. I am prepared to go to war with these people in order to protect and defend the interest of the people of Olongapo,” Macapagal said.

He added that he had received several complaints against Subic Water and Sewerage Co. Inc. (Subicwater) operating in Olongapo.

“I’ve spoken briefly with Subicwater Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Antonio and we are scheduled to meet in the coming days to discuss their billing methodology as more and more people are also complaining against their water bills,” he said.

TheManilaTimes tried to reach out to Subicwater for comment, but the water utility company did not reply and instead shared a post on their Facebook account in which it explained that even if Subicwater did not distribute printed copies of the water bills for April, the company performed meter monitoring from April 20 to 30. it said if a consumer’s account was among those monitored, the actual consumption for the month of April had been uploaded on the online account ledger.

It explained that it would appear in the arrears if the customer did not see and paid the amount.

Subicwater said for those who had not paid their water bills for the months of January, February and March, this would cause the amount of arrears to rise more.

The company added that there would be no penalties imposed during the quarantine period and that although they would automatically appear in the billing system, they would be manually canceled in the account ledger.