Inside a dusty fabrication shop in Tagum, the air is thick with the scent of oil, and conversations get drowned by the loud humming of the gears. But 52-year-old Dalia Palma hardly notices. After all, she endured weeks when the machines remained still like iron ghosts.
Having recently sunk ₱30,000 of their life savings into the fabrication business, Dalia and her husband expected to hit the ground running. Instead, their connection application with the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco) languished in administrative limbo for over a month.
“They said our application is being processed, but there were so many pending before us. I went there almost every day and received the same excuse,” she said. “Meanwhile, we could not accept orders, and we had to live on our savings to survive.”
“We had no electricity for over a month because our application with Nordeco remained unattended,” she said. “We hit rock bottom.”
Eventually, a compassionate neighbor took pity on their plight, allowing them to splice a line for basic lights and appliances. But violent voltage fluctuations still occur, and after a costly lesson involving a fried appliance, Dalia and her husband had to invest in an expensive industrial voltage regulator.
“We still suffer from unannounced brownouts, which means our machines are on standby, and our projects get delayed,” Dalia adds, looking out at her shop floor.
Her frustration is laced with a familiar envy. Her mother, who lived for years in Davao City before moving to Tagum, often shared tales of the stark contrast between the services provided by Davao Light and Nordeco.
“She would tell me how rare power outages were in Davao City and how affordable the electricity rates were,” Dalia recalls, a sigh escaping her. “I could only listen and sigh. Why couldn’t we have the same service?”
Without a stable connection, their domestic life began to unravel. “We were desperate at that point because my mother has asthma, and she needs an AC in her room to be able to breathe properly,” Dalia said. “She had to endure the electric fan, which didn’t really help in the summer nights.”
To be fair, Dalia said that Nordeco has improved in recent months, with fewer instances of fluctuating power and even cheaper monthly rates. However, by now it’s too late. They could have benefited from better service when Nordeco had sole control of the province’s energy supply.
“Now, Davao Light is here and hopefully will reach our barangay soon. I expect Davao Light to fully deliver excellent service, just like what my mother always tells us,” she said.
Connected to the grid, hopefully
A few kilometers away, Avenir Lim, 46, sits enjoying his food at the makeshift shanty made of split-bamboo mats and a tin roof.
A roadside sweet corn vendor operating just near the boundary between Tagum and Mawab town in Davao de Oro, Avenir is an anomaly in a very urbanized city, as he is a stranger to the grid.
“I can’t say I’ve ever been a customer,” he said with a wry smile. “We never had our own light meter.” Instead, his family relies on a neighbor’s connection, paying what he calls “premium rates.” The owner, he explained, charges a usage fee on top of the per-kilowatt-hour rate.
But he understands. It’s an arrangement exploiting their desperation, not fairness. The alternative, of course, is using an oil lamp and a long, sweaty night of fanning themselves to sleep.
For Avenir, the barrier isn’t a lack of desire, but the prohibitive cost of Nordeco’s connection fees. On a vendor’s income, the upfront fees remain an insurmountable hill.
So, the murmurs of Davao Light taking over the distribution franchise in Tagum have sparked a flicker of hope for Avenir. At the very least, it offers him full ownership, and no longer at the mercy of his neighbor’s whims.
“We never had our own light, so I would be happy to apply with Davao Light if I can afford it. I heard it’s not that expensive (to apply for connection), but I’m not sure,” he said.
“As to their service, all I know is what people tell me. They say Davao Light is better than Nordeco, but I really have to experience it to judge for myself.”
“Just do better”
The revving of engines defines the daily routine of Francis Asis, owner of a motorcycle parts and repair shop in downtown Tagum City. But he views the coming change with both hope and doubts.
He recently received a letter notice from Davao Light informing him that he would be paying his bills to the power utility beginning May 26, 2026. However, he is old enough to remember the confusion and chaos of the 2012 collection dispute between the Cooperative Development Authority and the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative.
Back then, double-billings were common as factions fought for control—a feud that eventually birthed Nordeco.
“Would that happen again this time? I did receive the letter notice from Davao Light, but what if Nordeco will also send us their own billing?” Francis asked, voicing the unspoken anxiety of many local merchants.
While Nordeco maintains that its billing and collection operations are ongoing, Francis watched Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib hold a joint press conference with Davao Light executives to formally announce the takeover, lending a weight of legitimacy that the 2012 dispute lacked.
“For now, we will pay our bills with Davao Light. I just hope that there will not be a repeat of the confusion caused by the Daneco incident,” Francis said.
Davao del Norte’s case is unique because Davao Light is not entering a vacuum. Instead, the company is inheriting decades of consumer fatigue.
“Our expectation of Davao Light is that the excellent service for Davao City will also be applied here,” Francis said, offering just one piece of advice to the utility provider: “Just do better.”
