Ilocos norte: The Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative has ramped up its efforts against illegal electricity connections and pilferage, with 38 customers coming forward to rectify their violations.
According to Philippines News Agency, INEC’s acting general manager Cipriano Martinez III announced that over the weekend, their linemen and meter readers intensified their operations. Martinez highlighted the ongoing inspections targeting “unregistered” consumers, who are considered a significant factor behind the substantial system loss charges affecting registered consumers.
INEC’s data indicates that system loss charges account for about PHP10 million per month, representing 10 percent of the total electric bills for consumers. Of this loss, approximately 6 percent is due to technical factors, while 4 percent is attributed to non-technical factors, such as illegal connections.
A rigorous house-to-house inspection and validation process is currently underway to ensure all connections are properly recorded in the billing system. With about 190,000 member-consumer-owners, INEC aims to address the system losses and ensure fair billing practices.
