The first quota of recovery has forced debtors to queue at Aes-Sonel agencies to pay bills.
Since July 26th Aes-Sonel launched a recovery of debts campaign from its biggest debtors who are either enterprises or individuals owing huge sums of electricity bills. According to Aes-Sonel, this campaign which concerns mostly major debtors who have accumulated bills from 2009 to the first half of 2012, which amounts to over FCFA 8.5 billion. None payment will lead to a temporal suspension of electrical supply or terminating of their subscription contracts.
The Chief of Commercial Division Aes-Sonel in Douala East in charge of the agencies in Billes, Dakar, Mbock Nicolas, said the company is ready to give these debtors a moratorium which is a flexible payment of their debts. Recalcitrant customers are disconnected from the electrical pole. Mbock said they advice customers not to allow their debts to accumulate to avoid forceful disconnection.
This action by AES has caused the general public to react by rushing to the different agencies close to their localities to pay their bills. In all Aes-Sonel agencies in Douala customers have queued to pay their bills before the disconnecting agents reach their area.
According to an agent in Aes-Sonel, most huge debtors have started clearing their debts since they received the formal notice to pay before legal proceedings follow. The team which descended the field on August 21 to disconnect some debtors comprised of some heavy body built security guards to prevent any eventuality, technical workers to disconnect from the electrical poles, the chief of the commercial division, among others. An individual in the Tergal neighborhood was disconnected from the pole because he had received a first disconnection and he did not react but reconnected directly from the pole without the consent of Aes-Sonel. He had a pending debt of FCFA 430,000. A bakery was also disconnected for owing FCFA447.000. Mbock said if they still refuse to pay after disconnection their files will be forwarded to the legal affairs department to book the debtors to court.
