In response to a power surge from the generator on January 3rd that fried many appliances, we contacted an electrician and the electric company Boheco for advice. Apparently we are reaching the capacity of the existing line and transformer, and an upgrade is recommended. The transformer sometimes shuts off when there is too much load and it feels like a brownout. When this happened on Jan 3, Richard assumed it was a brownout and turned on the generator. He didn’t realize the demand was too high and the generator could not handle it either. That is what caused the power surge. This upgrade was not necessary before, but now when we are fully booked, with many guests sometimes 3-4 per apartment like during the holidays, the 50 KVA transformer cannot handle the load. Even after installing solar panels on the restaurant, the apartments are using too much.
Is this upgrade really necessary? Yes. Everyone has invested a lot into Bohol Jewel and we are not interested to gamble having an unstable or unreliable electrical connection. The generator is only used as a backup, but 99% of our electricity comes from Boheco. Things are unpredictable in the Philippines, we don’t need to add another worry on top of everything else. Guests rely on Bohol Jewel as a safe and comfortable place to stay where things work properly and we intend to keep it that way.
As I mentioned before, NO apartment has paid any connection fees to be connected to Boheco so far. But that is not realistic. Everyone has to pay for their electrical connection no matter where in the world you are.
How is this going to happen? After surveying the property Boheco has made a quote that involves adding another line from the main road and more transformers (see quotation below). They are asking for a 40% down-payment to start the work, and we can pay the other 60% over 6 months with no interest. The amount is an ESTIMATE, we will not know the exact amount until they actually complete the job.
Because time is of essence and we have to work collectively for this upgrade, I am going to be sending out invoices to each apartment in the next few days to collect the 40% down-payment. In order to get this done and encourage everyone to pay on time, I will unfortunately also put deadlines and penalties. I am not trying to be mean or disrespectful, but this is the only way we will get this done. I hope everyone understands.
1. The Down Payment
The first invoice of ₱ 9,606 per apartment will be due in 2 weeks so we can get this done quickly. Every owner will receive this invoice by email or at the front desk like all regular invoices. If any apartment does not pay this first invoice we have no choice but to disconnect them. I will also have to re-calculate the costs for everyone because all other apartments will have to pay a little more. If an apartment is disconnected they will be able to reconnect but only if they pay the entire upgrade cost (approx ₱ 24,000) + ₱ 1,000 penalty. Again guys this is not something I want to do but it’s the only way to encourage it gets done on time.
If anyone is in a pickle and unable to pay this ₱ 9,606 in 2 weeks please message me personally (Whatsapp +63 9298529718 or email). But only if you are in a real financial problem.
Once we have collected the down-payment we will schedule the job. I will post a copy of the receipt of this payment in the Whatsapp group and on the spreadsheet that I’m using to calculate the payments.
2. The Installments
For the next 6 months after the job is completed we will add an installment amount to each apartment’s monthly invoice of approx ₱ 2,400. This amount will be due 2 weeks from receiving the invoice every month. Unfortunately I will also put penalties on these payments because if we don’t pay the installments on time, Boheco will disconnect us and give us a large fine + interest. We will add a ₱ 500 pesos penalty for late installment payments and if not paid after 30 days will be disconnected. In order to be reconnected it will be the same as before the owner will have to pay the entire remaining balance (no more installment) plus a ₱ 1,000 pesos re-connection fee.
This installment amount is only an estimate. The exact amount may change after the job is completed and depending on how many apartments are participating. I will be using this spreadsheet to calculate the amounts and keep it updated. If you want to know exactly how your installment amount is calculated month to month you can go back and look at this spreadsheet.
3. Other Options
We are going to complete this upgrade in February no matter what. If you don’t want to pay for this upgrade there are 2 other possibilities:
- You can install a solar panel system and rely 100% on solar power. Even if you go solar I would recommend staying connected to Boheco. It’s not always nice and sunny in Bohol and eventually the solar system will run out of power.
- You can ask to connect directly to Boheco and have your own account with them and separate meter. I don’t know if this is even possible because no one has tried. The cost for a new connection will be at least ₱ 100-200K. I know this because I built a house in the area.
4. Summary
One of the main reasons for Bohol Jewel was so people could own a place in Bohol without having to deal with all the requirements, red tape, permits, staff, maintenance, taxes, fees and corruption that go along with ownership in the Philippines. As much as this electric upgrade sucks, it’s a lot easier when we split it between all owners. If you had your own place on a separate lot you would be paying this 1M pesos on your own. I hope we can put this electric problem behind us and move forward with a nice reliable electric connection, as reliable as can be in Bohol. And there are plenty of other smaller issues that we need to work on.
Regards,
Bill
