CUC extends grace period for overdue bills

Despite problems with collection of accounts receivable, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has adopted a new policy giving additional days of reprieve to customers who have overdue power bills.

Under the amended electric service regulations, CUC bills will start incurring a 1-percent late charge 30 days after their due date. CUC’s current practice is to start imposing the late charge right after the bills become due.

CUC chair Francisco Q. Guerrero and executive director Lorraine Babauta said in a public notice that the proposed amendments have been adopted as they were published in the Commonwealth Register last July.

The corporation received no comments from the public on the proposed amendments during the 30-day publication period.

“All bills that remain unpaid for 30 calendar days after the billing date will incur a 1-percent late charge. This charge becomes part of the balance due. Thereafter, late charges on the past due balance accrue at the rate of 1 percent per month, compounded monthly,” a portion of the amended regulations read.

The amendments were implemented upon the approval of the CUC board of directors during its regular meeting on April 7, 2004.

As of the end of July, CUC had receivables totaling over $33 million, with $17.9 million due from the government.

CUC comptroller Sohale Samari, however, had reported last August that of the $15.1 million due from residential and commercial customers, over $8.6 million—or 58 percent—is “uncollectible.”

Included in the uncollectible amount is about $858,000 that is due from 21 customers who have easement claims against CUC. These customers are seeking compensation for utility service lines that cross their properties.

Thus, CUC’s net utility receivables total over $24.4 million.

Besides the new policy on overdue bills, the amendments “address customers’ and corporation’s concerns” regarding CUC rules on line extensions and extensions of service.

The new regulations allow CUC to impose a moratorium on providing new service to customers or upgrading service to existing customers “if CUC determines that such new service would overburden the existing distribution or generation capacity.”

A customer who violates the conditions of the moratorium would be subject to disconnection.

“CUC’s planned extension of electrical distribution lines is contingent upon the availability of funds identified by CUC for expansion purposes,” the utility corporation said in the amended rules. “CUC has discretion to determine where and when distribution lines shall be extended.”

Further, the customer will have to foot the bill if he wants a CUC power distribution line extension to a place that is not part of CUC’s planned expansion area.

All line extensions would be made only after the customer makes an advance payment to CUC of the estimated installation cost that is in excess of CUC base cost, plus the free extension allowance.