A pro-administration lawmaker on Monday underscored the need for Congress to review pertinent laws governing the use of prepaid retail electric service.
This as Samar Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento revealed that the country’s largest power distributor, the Manila Electric Co., has been providing PRES to its consumers without any detailed breakdown of their charges contrary to the rules set by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Sarmiento said Meralco’s practice casts doubt on the credibility of PRES which is the future in the power retail sector because of its many advantages both on the side of the service provider and the end-user.
“PRES is definitely a game-changer in the power sector. Just like our mobile phones, the prepaid scheme is definitely a very attractive option for many consumers because of its practicality and simplicity. It can help consumers put a cap on their consumption and for the distributor, this would finally stop people from using jumpers,” Sarmiento, vice chairman of the House committee on transportation, said.
Sarmiento cites ERC’s Resolution 17 dated October 1, 2012, which provides that distribution utilities (DU) such as Meralco and electric cooperatives that offers PRES as an alternative to its existing postpaid service are required to issue a receipt containing the detailed breakdown of charges incurred by their users.
Article II Section 2.8 of the ERC Resolution states that the DU shall provide a printed receipt or any form of confirmation of the loaded or credited amount of energy that includes the following: Name of Distribution Utility; Receipt Number; Date and time of loading or activation of energy credit; Meter identification (it is either the name of the registered customer, or meter and/or service identification number); Amount of electricity energy credit (in kilowatt-hours and in pesos); Tariff charge; and the number of purchase transactions made in the same month.
Sarmiento cited complaints made by some PRES users that Meralco has been issuing receipts without the breakdown, thus allegedly violating the guidelines set by the ERC and could be liable of administrative sanctions as prescribed under Republic Act 9136 otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA Law).
Under ERC rules, DUs providing prepaid metering should also have a system that is compliant [on] with Standard Transfer Specifications(STS), an independent international body which has a long experience on prepaid service operations worldwide.
Sarmiento added the rules require that prepaid meter devices must be inspected and certified by STS before they are rolled out to their users.
Sarmiento added that the ERC also requires the provision of monitoring mechanism for every consumer like a Customer Interface Device (CID) where they can have real-time access in monitoring their consumption.
“Sanctions can range from mere fines to a complete revocation of franchise,” Sarmiento said.
Sarmiento said that Meralco’s practice must be corrected right away as he cited the increasing public interest on the use of prepaid metering. He said that receipts that are issued for prepaid meters should be as detailed as the billing receipts being provided to postpaid users.