Party-list lawmakers on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to reject the order of the Energy Regulatory Board allowing Meralco to collect the bill deposits from consumers, which now amounts to P29 billion.
In a petition, the lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc led by Bayan Muna chairman and senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares asked the high court to declare as null and void the ERC’s order allowing Meralco to collect the bill deposits and to mix with its general fund for capital and operations-related purposes.
The group said the collection of the bill deposit, a refundable fund meant to guarantee payment of bills by consumers, was illegal and void because it was not allowed under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
“It does not fall under the distribution wheeling charges, connection fees or retail rates allowed by EPIRA to be collected from consumers,” the group’s petition says.
“Such guarantee for the payment of bills on its captive market has no basis or justification and is actually illegal since the payment of bills is already certain under the ERC and Meralco’s policy and protocols on non-payment of monthly bills.”
The petitioners said Meralco allegedly uses the funds from bill deposits “for other purposes, including investments in financial instruments and operations-related expenses.”
“Commingling of bill deposits with the Meralco funds threatens the integrity of the bill deposit and endangers the right to refund of the consumers,” the petition says.
The petitioners claim that Meralco is not giving back to its costumers the interest rates actually earned by the bill deposits.
“From what was originally a 10 percent-interest rate per year, the ERC and Meralco have reduced the interest rate to just .25 percent per year, allowing Meralco to profit tremendously from the bill deposit, with a return of at least 14.97 percent,” the petition says.
The petitioners asked the high court to order the ERC to implement a refund of the bill deposit to Meralco’s 6.5-million consumers.
Colmenares was joined by Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate, Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao, Gabriela Women’s Party-list Representatives Emerenciana de Jesus and Arlene D. Brosas, Act Teachers Party-list Representatives Antonio Tinio and Francisca Castro, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. in filing the petition.
The petition named as respondents ERC chairman Agnes Devanadera, Commission on Audit chairman Michael Aguinaldo and Meralco president and CEO Oscar Reyes.
