DAVAO Light and Power Company (DLPC) customers who have not settled their electricity bills for June to August may have their service cut after Nov. 26, even as the no-disconnection period has been extended until December.
Fermin Edillon, DLPC’s head of reputation enhancement, said during a Davao Peace and Security Press Corps briefing at the Royal Mandaya Hotel on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, that a new Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) order extended the no-disconnection period until December, but with conditions.
He said only customers who have paid their bills for June, July, and August can avail themselves of the extension. For those who have not, disconnection may take effect starting Nov. 27.
Edillon said the ERC likely set the condition to help customers avoid accumulating unpaid bills.
Bills still due
Edillon stressed that the no-disconnection order does not mean customers no longer have to pay. He said the order does not state that bills need not be settled; it only spares customers from worrying about losing power during difficult times.
“Tinuod na no-disconnection, but still, kung naa moy extra, hinay-hinayi ninyo og bayad (It is true that there is no disconnection, but still, if you have extra money, pay it little by little),” he said, “kay para pag-abot sa tumoy, dili pud kita maglisod og apas sa balayronon (so that in the end, we will not struggle to catch up with our bills).”
He gave the example of a customer with a monthly bill of ₱2,000 who has not paid since June. By August, the unpaid amount would reach ₱6,000. With the extension, it could reach ₱12,000 by November.
“Kinahanglan gyud nato i-settle atong mga bills para dili ta maglisod pag-abot sa tumoy kay mo-balloon na tong mga bills (We really need to settle our bills so that we will not struggle in the end, because the bills will balloon),” Edillon said.
Payment arrangements
Edillon said customers who cannot pay their bills at once may visit a DLPC office to arrange a payment schedule. They may also sign a promissory note stating when they will settle their bills.
As long as DLPC and the customer have a clear agreement, he said, the service will not be cut.
He reminded customers that unlike food, which is paid for before it is eaten, electricity and other utilities are used first and paid for later, so customers should manage their consumption to avoid surprisingly large bills.
Delayed bills
Edillon also said some bills were delayed last month because of an ERC order requiring utilities to wait for and recompute total bills.
The ERC earlier directed distribution utilities to recompute the August 2026 generation charges after it ordered the Secondary Price Cap in the WESM to be applied separately to the Visayas and Mindanao grids. DLPC resumed sending bills on Sept. 24. GRS