City settles power debt feud with distributor

SAN CARLOS CITY—The yearslong debt feud that threatens to cripple the power supply here has been settled, with the city government agreeing to offset the unpaid taxes of the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative Inc. (Cenpelco) with its unpaid bills.

Cenpelco owes the city government P212 million in taxes while the city owes P174 million in unpaid electricity bills. Both parties have been sending each other bills but neither had taken the steps to pay their debts since the 1980s.

On Friday, the city government and Cenpelco sat down and agreed to pay their debts without pursuing the penalties that had accumulated in the course of their feud.

Without the penalties, Cenpelco said the city government’s unpaid power debt had dropped to P75 million.

Mayor Julier Resuello said the city treasurer’s office still had to compute Cenpelco’s obligations once it also deducted the penalties and interests payments.

“We will condone all the penalties but we do not have the exact remaining figure yet. But I am sure that Cenpelco will pay us,” he said.

Cenpelco also agreed to rescind an appeal it made to the Pangasinan provincial board to mediate the debt feud. “Let us settle among ourselves. The problem may worsen if another party intervenes,” Resuello told Cenpelco officials during the meeting. Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon