The Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative (SOLECO) Inc. said consumers with a 20-kilowatt hour or less consumption for May 2020 will no longer need to pay their electric bills.

The zero-amount due will automatically reflect on the monthly bill of qualified residential consumers, SOLECO said in a statement on Thursday.

“This is one of our corporate social responsibility programs that aim to help our poor consumers ease their regular expenses to sustain their families amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic,” it added.

The power firm cited the program will benefit 32,000 consumers that would entail over PHP3 million.

They are the cooperative’s lifeline consumers or residential users and around one-third of its over 100,000 members.

SOLECO clarified commercial and industrial utility consumers are excluded in the program.

“The budget for this program was taken from the realigned funds of our canceled activities due to this pandemic. Unfortunately, not all members could benefit the program since we must be financially capable to maintain our operations in the next months amid the health crisis,” it added.

According to SOLECO, they are one of the utility firms in Eastern Visayas with large aid package benefits for its consumer-owners amid the health crisis.

Meanwhile, the power firm announced that payment of March and April 2020 power bills is extended until July without surcharges in response to the nationwide effort to prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease. (PNA)