Electricity consumers in Northern Samar got a shock upon receiving their electric bills for May after finding out they have to shell up to a million pesos just for the month of May.
Consumers of the Northern Samar Electric Cooperative (Norsamelco) who are already suffering from the intense summer heat are now seeing red after a sudden increase in their electric bills for the month of May.
Residents of the town of Mondragon and Gamay, Northern Samar were “surprised” after their electric bills for May zoomed to improbable levels, with some reporting their total fees shooting up to P694,000 or even a million pesos.
A resident in Laoang, Northern Samar vented his dismay and anger in social media after his Norsamelco bill for the month of May reached P1,037,876.85.
What surprised him was that the bill said he used over 85,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) for the month of May, a sudden jump from the 486 kWh he consumed as per his previous billing.
Some netizens are also questioning those who conducted the readings for the month of May after discovering that they allegedly used over 99,000 kWh.
Netizens said the exorbitant bills were “unjustified” as Norsamelco consumers have experienced rotating brownouts during the past weeks.
Norsamelco, however, claimed that the increase is out of their control since there has been an increase in the private generation companies.
This, the cooperative said, resulted in a power rate hike from the month of March to April which ranges from 5.5 to around 6.3 pesos per kWh. (JKA)
Tags: #OpinYon8, #NorthernSamar, #Norsamelco, #electricitybills