PPC, facing €3.5bn unpaid bills amount, boosts collection effort

Intensifying its debt collection effort over the past month, the main power utility PPC, whose unpaid receivables figure has reportedly risen to over 3.5 billion euros, has ordered some 340,000 customers to settle unpaid electricity bills and plans to soon forward thousands more payment orders, all signed by legal officials.

Consumers who have failed to make payments over two consecutive four-month billing periods are being targeted, regardless of amounts, sources informed.

The initiative has drawn many household and business consumers to the power utility’s outlets for immediate settlement of unpaid amounts or, most commonly,  payback program arrangements not exceeding 24 monthly installments.

Payback plan terms being offered to customers are not standardized but shaped in accordance with individual customer profiles and track records.

Debt collection services firm Qualco, hired by PPC for unpaid receivables support, has joined the effort by sub-contracting fellow debt collection and law firms to notify customers of their electricity bill arrears. Qualco has pledged to collect 450 million euros for PPC over the next nine months.

A PPC business plan prepared by consulting firm McKinsey has set a debt collection target of between 690 million and 1.1 billion euros.