ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  – The new management of the Zamboanga Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) has called for the implementation of a more efficient and effective collection campaign from thousands of delinquent member-consumers, even as it intensified its meter-reading and inspection drive against those engaged in meter-tampering, which have aggravated the financial loss of the company.

These are among the latest moves initiated by Electrical Engineer Jesus Y. Castro who was installed cooperative's new general manager (GM) by the National Electrification Administration (NEA), which earlier removed from their posts the firm’s incumbent chief and eight members of the board of directors after a three-month audit-investigation was conducted.

Castro, a multi-awarded electric cooperative executive in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay who was earlier installed by NEA as Zamcelco project supervisor, told the Manila Bulletin that the intensified collection crusade caused the heavily-indebted company to collect close to P190 million in January, 2011, or an increment of P24 million compared to its P166 million take during the same month in 2010.

Castro announced through Engineer Edgardo Ancheta, chief of the Consumers Account Department (CAD), that the cooperative has currently some P200 million uncollected power bills from its close to 100,000 active consumers, many of whom have dormant accounts covering at least 12 months.

Ancheta noted that during Castro’s first quarter occupancy of the coop’s top post, its revenue jumped to P504.9 million as against its P474.8 million earnings during the same three-month period last year.

The CAD head added that the company’s net loss of P59.9 million in the first quarter of 2010 was reduced by Castro to P32.5 million – or a difference of P27.4 million – during the same period this year.

According to Ancheta, Castro also heightened the firm’s drive against meter-tampering members by fielding every Saturday majority of its 311 rank and file for massive city-wide meter inspection work.

Castro’s initiative resulted in the discovery of the firm’s total loss of 1,287,381 kilowatt-hour from January to June, 2011, which, Ancheta said, had a total value of at least P4,741,000.52.