Electricity companies struggle with JD310m in unpaid dues of subscribers

AMMAN — Subscribers owe the country’s three electricity companies over JD310 million in accumulative unpaid dues despite collection efforts, according to officials from the providers.

Subscribers' delay or failure to pay their utility bills to the Jordanian Electric Power Co. Ltd. (JEPCO) increases the company's financial burdens, as it borrows with interest to cover its dues to the Energy and Mineral Resources Commission (EMRC), said Hassan Abdullah, strategic asset manager at JEPCO, which distributes electricity to end users in the central region, the most inhabited region in the Kingdom.  

"The EMRC allows power companies a fixed and limited margin for delayed subscribers' dues to electricity companies in order to control the accumulation of these dues," he told The Jordan Times in an interview over the phone.

Abdullah said the total amount of subscribers' unpaid dues to JEPCO is up to JD220 million, adding that some subscribers have become financially unable to commit to paying their bills, while others are either expatriates or owners of abandoned houses. 

"Regardless of the amount of the bill, a 45-day grace period is granted to subscribers, starting from the day the bill is issued, after which power companies are allowed to cut off power supply of customers who default on payments," he said.

The official added that JEPCO diversifies collection methods to allow subscribers to pay at the times and via the methods they find convenient.

"JEPCO has signed agreements with several commercial banks and the Jordan Post Company to allow payment services at their branches," he said, noting that a mobile payment service is scheduled to start soon. 

The Irbid District Electricity Company (IDECO), which supplies the governorates of Irbid, Mafraq, Jerash and Ajloun as well as some parts of Balqa, has outstanding debts on subscribers worth around JD61 million, according to figures of the company provided upon request by The Jordan Times.

Ranked fifth among electricity companies in the Arab world and among the top 500 companies in the region by Forbes, IDECO organises trainings for its employees on dealing with customers, said Issmat Twaiq, head of the public relations department.

“We build bridges of communication with the local community and our some 400,000 subscribers,” he told The Jordan Times recently.

Meanwhile, subscribers’ unpaid dues to the Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO), which covers the southern governorates of Karak, Tafileh, Maan and Aqaba as well as the eastern areas of the Jordan Valley, exceed JD30 million, said EDCO Director General Hassan Thneibat.

However, subscribers not committed to regular payment constitute around 7 per cent of all subscribers, he said, adding that the “very high” amount of dues comprises mostly bills of households and commercial outlets, some of which have not paid for the past two to three years.

Thneibat added that EDCO constantly urges its subscribers to pay their dues without delay and posts announcements in local newspapers warning them of service shutdown.