Households in the Nguyen Quyen apartment building in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City faced a power outage on Monday due to unpaid electric bills. 

A resident of the apartment building located at 279 Phan Anh Street in Binh Tri Dong Ward told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday evening that the blackout had turned the residents’ lives upside down.

The power cut started from 11:00 am, leading to a shutoff of all electric equipment and devices.

Elevators stopped working, while the households in the building suffered a shortage of water due to a shutdown of the main water pump. 

“We have repeatedly faced energy blackouts,” N., resident in the building, recounted.

Many residents said that Nguyen Quyen Company, the investor of the apartment building, had failed to install a power substation for the building to hand over meters to Binh Phu Electricity Company. 

Nguyen Quyen Company is in charge of installing meters at all the apartments of the building and collecting energy bills.

The households in the building pay power bills to Nguyen Quyen Company each month, but the firm has constantly delayed its payments to the electricity supplier, causing havoc for the residents.

“Repeated power shutoffs have affected the daily activities of 170 households with over 500 people in the apartment building, and might pose a threat to the safety of residents as well as security,” said T., a resident of the building.

Over the past few months, the residents in the building have repeatedly asked the investor to guarantee their benefits.

T. said that officials came to the building to check the situation, and work with the relevant units on Monday evening, so the electricity was restored at 8:00 pm.

Binh Phu Electricity Company told Tuoi Tre that Nguyen Quyen Company had delayed paying its power bills many times.

After receiving a notice about overdue electricity bills, or power outages, the firm sent a letter asking to delay payments for different reasons, according to the power supplier.

Since early 2022, Binh Phu Electricity Company has sent many dispatches to Nguyen Quyen Company prompting the latter to pay power bills, and responding to its requests.

Though the electricity provider adopted various drastic measures, Nguyen Quyen Company presented many reasons to delay its payments.

As of June 15, Nguyen Quyen Company had failed to pay eight power bills worth over VND400 million (US$17,000), forcing Binh Phu Electricity Company to cut power as announced previously.

Ngo Van Xuan, a representative of Nguyen Quyen Company, told Tuoi Tre that the firm had been in dispute with the electricity supplier since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Xuan also showed the firm’s letter for help.

The letter details many disputes between the two firms over power bills and concerns over impacts on residents from power shutoffs.

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