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Gov’t told to pay utility bills
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Posted on Nov 09 1999
The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation has asked the government to make a payment schedule to settle close to $10 million in utility bills left unpaid the past few months.
CUC Executive Director Timothy P. Villagomez said his staff is meeting with the Department of Finance to try to come up with a schedule that will reduce huge debt of the government to the agency.
“I do understand the predicament the government is in but CUC, too, has to pay its vendors. Regardless, they have to come up with payment,” he told reporters yesterday.
The government-owned utility corporation has placed the unpaid utility bills by the government — it’s biggest customers — at $9 million as of last month, jumping from $6.8 million last July ago incurred for the previous six months.
According to Villagomez, CUC has sent letters demanding payment almost everyday to force the finance department to pay portion of the billings.
“They are going to make progress payment. As to how much that amount is, we will take anything that is given to us right now,” he explained. “We are pressuring them.”
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio last July pledged to settle its mounting utility bills, saying the government needs to tighten its belt to meet various financial obligations. It is not clear when his administration will make the payment.
CUC officials have expressed fear over the inability of the government to settle the debt due to its impact on its own financial condition, which has also been unstable due to increasing fuel costs and declining revenues for the last two years.
To help the government ease its burden, the utility corporation has cut its power rate from 20 cents to 16 cents. Such reduction would mean losses of about $2 million each year for CUC.
