IN time for Christmas, the government gives a gift that may go a long way for lifeline power consumers, including Boholanos through the Katas ng VAT.
The gift comes in the form of P500 government power subsidy for lifeline consumers who are good payors, Bohol Electric Cooperative Assistant general manager Engr. Virgilio Fortich explained over the weekly Kapihan sa PIA Thursday.
The Kapihan discussed concerns on the government power subsidy and invited BOHECO and Bohol Light Company Inc. to elucidate on Pantawid Koryente: Katas ng EVAT, a topic that concerns lifeline power consumers.
By lifeline, the government means residential consumers whose power consumption last May was below 100.
The government decided to hand down the subsidy to help dampen the impact of high oil prices that cause disastrous volatility in prices of basic commodities, including power consumers.
With BOHECO as partner in the government program, the Bohol power provider would effect the power subsidy in December, or at a time when people are expected to be consuming and thus paying more.
The peak usage of power would be in December where people put in additional consumption with the Christmas lights.
But the subsidy, according to Engr. Fortich would not be transferable, non-convertible to cash and would only be creditable to the monthly billings beginning December until the whole amount is used up.
Of the P500 subsidy, he means that if a consumer uses up only about 20 kilowatts per month, the subsidy would be stretched until the whole amount is credited and is left with a no-balance.
In that case, if a consumer qualifies to avail, and if by December his billing is more than P500, he would only pay the balance.
And in other case, if the December billing consumption is only about P100, then the consumer can still stretch his subsidy until he uses up the whole amount.
Over this, BOHECO institutional services department manager Ernesto Mascarinas reiterated the call for consumers to go to the nearest Boheco collection station to get their credit memos.
The credit memo allows consumers to know if the qualify to the program or not. (rachiu/PIA)
