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For many electricity consumers in Davao del Norte, the arrival of Davao Light and Power Co. represents more than a change in utility provider. After years of dealing with delayed connections, unannounced outages, and unreliable service, residents and business owners are hoping the transition will finally deliver the stable electricity they have long sought, even as a billing dispute with the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative Inc. (Nordeco) creates uncertainty.
Unreliable Service
Inside her fabrication shop in Tagum City, 52-year-old Dalia Palma recalls how her family nearly exhausted its savings after waiting more than a month for a power connection from Nordeco.
Having invested ₱30,000 to start the business, Palma said repeated follow-ups yielded little progress, preventing them from accepting customer orders while living off their remaining savings.
“We had no electricity for over a month because our application with Nordeco remained unattended,” she said, adding that a neighbor eventually allowed them to tap into an electricity line for basic needs.
Even after securing power, voltage fluctuations and unexpected brownouts continued to disrupt operations, forcing the family to purchase an industrial-grade voltage regulator after an appliance was damaged.
Palma said conditions have improved in recent months, with fewer voltage issues and lower electricity bills. Still, she believes the improvements came too late after years of unreliable service.
She now hopes Davao Light will bring to Tagum the same dependable electricity service that relatives experienced while living in neighboring Davao City.
Reliable electricity is also a pressing concern at home. Palma said her elderly mother, who suffers from asthma, struggled through hot nights without consistent air conditioning because of their delayed power connection.
Hope For First-Time Connections
Just outside the city, roadside sweet corn vendor Avenir Lim has never had his own electricity meter.
Instead, his family depends on a neighbor’s connection and pays additional charges on top of regular electricity rates. He said the high cost of securing a formal connection from Nordeco has remained beyond what his income could support.
Lim said reports that Davao Light has assumed distribution responsibilities have given him hope that owning a legal electricity connection may finally become attainable if connection fees prove more affordable.
Although he has heard positive feedback about Davao Light’s service, he said he wants to judge its performance based on his own experience.
Billing Confusion
Motorcycle shop owner Francis Asis shares the optimism but remains cautious. He recently received notice that, beginning May 26, 2026, his electricity bills would be handled by Davao Light. However, memories of the 2012 dispute involving the former Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative continue to fuel concerns among local business owners about the possibility of receiving conflicting bills.
He said the public announcement made jointly by Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib and Davao Light officials has given him confidence to pay the new utility, but he hopes consumers will not experience another period of uncertainty.
“Our expectation of Davao Light is that the excellent service for Davao City will also be applied here,” Asis said.
Dispute Continues
The transition, however, remains accompanied by competing claims over billing authority.
In a June 22 advisory, Nordeco said it continues to conduct meter reading, billing, and collection in its franchise areas, maintaining that it still receives billings from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., and the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines.
According to Nordeco, the charges it receives from these entities cover electricity consumed from April 26 to May 25, 2026, with the corresponding pass-through costs reflected in consumers’ June bills. The cooperative said its June meter reading and billing cycle began on June 23 and urged member-consumer-owners to continue paying their bills.
The advisory came after Davao Light announced that, effective May 26, it had assumed billing and collection functions in Tagum City, Asuncion, Kapalong, New Corella, San Isidro, and Talaingod under Republic Act No. 12144, a Supreme Court ruling, and a writ of possession issued by the Regional Trial Court in Tagum City.
Davao Light has advised consumers that electricity consumed beginning May 26 should be paid exclusively to the company through its authorized payment channels.
Meanwhile, the utility also announced a ₱1.95-per-kilowatt-hour increase in its June 2026 residential electricity rate, raising the charge to ₱12.30/kWh from ₱10.35/kWh in May. The company attributed the adjustment to higher generation costs brought about by tight power supply conditions and outages affecting several power plants.
Source:
https://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/a-flicker-of-hope-tagums-small-business-owners-await-the-light/
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2253649/nordeco-disputes-davao-light-billing-claim
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/court-favors-davao-light-expansion-in-davao-del-norte
