Noceco fixes viral PHP 958,334 bill shock

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative has addressed a viral post from a consumer who received a statement of account showing an electricity bill of PHP 958,334.94.

Noceco said it received a complaint on May 18 about a burned kilowatt-hour meter caused by damaged terminals, and the meter was replaced the following day.

However, the final reading of the old meter was inadvertently encoded into the system, resulting in an inaccurate billing amount in the consumer’s statement of account, the power firm said.

In a Facebook post, the consumer said she was confused by how the bill reached nearly PHP 1 million despite operating only a water refilling station and a laundry shop in Barangay Tagda, Hinigaran town.

“Ano ini? Aga niyo pa kami gin gaan mini heart attack. Ano may factory kami di nga manug 1M na bill namon,” the consumer shared, tagging Noceco on Facebook.

The post drew close to 6,000 reactions and 1,700 shares.

Noceco said the meter reading has been corrected and the consumer has been informed of the updated bill.

Following the incident, the power firm urged all member-consumer-owners who may experience unusual or significant increases in their monthly electricity bills to immediately coordinate with the nearest Noceco office for assessment and appropriate action.

Noceco also advised consumers to contact its emergency hotlines so their concerns can be promptly addressed and resolved.

Noceco serves 13 towns, four cities, and 308 barangays in southern Negros Occidental.

Its service areas include Pulupandan, Valladolid, La Carlota City, San Enrique, Pontevedra, Hinigaran, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Binalbagan, Isabela, Himamaylan City, Kabankalan City, Cauayan, Candoni, Sipalay City, and Hinoba-an.

For May 2026, Noceco listed its total residential electricity rate at PHP 11.4510 per kilowatt-hour, underscoring how unusually high the erroneous bill was for an ordinary consumer account.