Africa-Press – Angola. The debt recovery strategy for customers of the National Electricity Distribution Company (ENDE) depends on the segment of each customer, as stated by its Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hélder Adão.
In an interview the PCA said that, for domestic customers who have prepaid meters, a percentage is debited on each purchase they make. Once amortized, you will benefit from 100 percent of the recharge value.
In relation to State and private institutions, such as industries, the amortization of this debt requires negotiation.
“We have always expressed openness and willingness to negotiate the phased payment of this debt, whether on a monthly or bi-monthly plan”, he explained.
According to Hélder Adão, State institutions also depend on a budget and if the budget is not allocated, they are unable to honor their commitments
“There are institutions that have accumulated debt for prolonged periods, such as football stadiums. The Citadel in Luanda is one of them with six billion kwanzas.
He revealed that there are debts that are recurring due to liabilities that State entities cannot assume, such as AAA companies and those that were recovered by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR). Many of them were handed over to the Courts.
“These entities that inherited this property do not want to assume the debt, claiming that they did not use that asset before taking possession of the properties.
Private institutions, if after negotiation they do not honor their commitment, the coercive method is implemented, in this case the cut.
That manager stated that the company has settled accounts with the Ministry of Finance, as it is also committed to paying its taxes to the General Tax Administration.
Prepaid meters
The PCA denied rumors that the process of installing prepaid meters is at a standstill in the country, due to the lack of that equipment in stock.
“What happens is that this investment is very heavy with the company’s own resources and the effort it makes is almost not felt”, he stated.
In the same vein, he mentioned that there are projects being financed by the African Development Bank, but that it is a very slow process.
He said, however, that 2023 is the year in which there are more positive signs that the process will move forward, because there was recently a public tender in which the winning companies have practically been identified.
“We are in the period in which competitors are submitting complaints, after this validated process, we will wait for the ADB to make payments to the winning companies, later this year, to see if this project starts at the beginning of 2024”, he highlighted.
Billing by estimate
Due to the fact that ENDE does not have prepaid meters for all customers with home connections, the estimated billing process continues.
Regarding this situation, Hélder Adão stated that it is one of the company’s major concerns and that it must be resolved as soon as possible.
“We have to admit that there is some injustice because there could be harm both to the customer, due to being charged an amount that does not correspond to consumption, and also to the company”, according to the PCA.
To overcome the problem, he said the company must ensure that each customer has a prepaid meter.
Illegal connections
“From our experience, we have seen that many times, it is not the customer’s desire to avoid paying, but the lack of electrification in the area where they live forces them to make an illegal connection”, he acknowledged.
According to the PCA, this situation occurs more in provinces with greater population density.
Hélder Adão admitted that, as the network expands, these situations will decrease.
Meanwhile, according to the PCA, ENDE has been carrying out campaigns to cut connections that are beyond the company’s control.
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