The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is looking at granting relief to power consumers in areas under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) by letting them pay their electricity bills over four to six months.
ERC spokesman Floresinda Digal said an advisory would spell out what kind of relief consumers would get Friday.
READ: Energy official sees flat electricity demand this year
The ERC earlier directed distribution utilities such as the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to implement a four-month installment period for the affected billings under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to ease the burden of consumers.
Metro Manila transitioned from an ECQ to an MECQ on May 16, which relaxes quarantine restrictions and allows some businesses to operate.
Digal said the relief could come in the form of installment payments “maybe longer than four months.”
Consumers have been clamoring for relief after Meralco power bills soared in May amid high consumption, which raised questions on the company’s billing computation.
ERC has already directed Meralco to explain and show proof of its basis in calculating the kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption of its customers for the billing periods of March to May during the ECQ.
ERC sent the letter to Meralco on May 15 after receiving numerous complaints from customers.
“We have been bombarded with complaints on Meralco’s alleged high billings covering the past three months, including this May, and we need to look into these consumers’ allegations that we required Meralco to submit to us data or information for us to validate the accuracy of their billing calculations,” said ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera.
Some March and all April bills of Meralco were estimated based on the past three months’ average daily consumption, following the Distribution Services and Open Access Rules (DSOAR) issued by the ERC.
READ: Meralco told to explain fee charged on apps
“We are adhering to our mandate of ensuring that the interest of the consuming public is promoted and protected,” Devanadera said.
ERC directed Meralco to submit documents within five days from receipt of the letter.
This includes the basis on the determination of the kWh consumption of the captive customers during the ECQ particularly for the March to May billing periods and power bills issued by the suppliers used in the computation of the generation rate for the same billing period.
ERC also asked Meralco to submit invoices from National Grid Corp. of the Philippines used in the computation of the transmission and the uniform reportorial requirement (URR) for the said billing period.
“The data that we required of Meralco will enable the commission to determine if Meralco has indeed complied with the relevant rules issued by ERC, such as the DSOAR, and implemented accurately the pertinent advisories that we issued on 15 April and 5 May 2020 relating to the implementation of pass through charges to the consumers,” Devanadera said.
The Energy Department also asked Meralco to explain numerous complaints of high electricity rates in May.
“I think we received many complaints and we’re asking for the explanation of Meralco…Let’s wait for Meralco’s reply [on] why rates went up,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.
Meralco on Thursday said it will shoulder the convenience fee for payments made under the Meralco App during the ECQ period from March 16 to May 15.
READ: ERC orders Meralco to explain huge monthly bills
Meralco received flak from consumers for charging consumers the P47 convenience fee for using their payment platform.
Meralco president Ray Espinosa, in a letter to Cusi dated May 20 said the charging of a convenience fee by a payment gateway provider like PayMaya is a common commercial practice in the online payment service industry.
“Perhaps what Meralco should have done during the ECQ” period – March 16 to May 15 – was to shoulder the convenience fee charged by the payment gateway provider considering that the Meralco Business Offices and Bayad Center branches and partner outlets were closed during that time,” Espinosa said.
“I sincerely apologize for this lapse. Meralco will shoulder the convenience fee charged during the aforesaid ECQ period and refund to the customers the fees they paid during this period,” he said.
Espinosa said Meralco has several authorized payment channels for the payment of electricity bills, all at the option of the customer.
These includes the Meralco Business Centers for over the counter payment, Bayad Center branches and partners also for over the counter, authorized Banks, also over the counter, ATM machine, phone banking or auto debit arrangement, credit cards.auto charge arrangement and the Meralco Online App, electronic payment via Visa and Masterard networks, PayMaya or GCash.
Espinosa said the Meralco App was actually introduced and launched on Sept. 12, 2018 to provide, among others, an additional 24/7 online payment channel which customers may use, at their convenience anytime and anywhere, for the payment of their Meralco bills.
Bills paid via the Meralco App Online Payment Facility go through a payment gateway operated and maintained by PayMaya (which is linked to the Visa and Mastercard networks).
PayMaya charges the Meralco customer a convenience fee of P47 per transaction and no part of the fee goes to Meralco, Espinosa said.
“I wish to assure you that we shall be more sensitive in the future and shall be ever mindful of the best interest and well-being of our customers,” Espinosa said.
Cusi earlier asked Meralco to explain the P47 convenience fee which was an additional burden during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) said imposing a moratorium on water bills would hurt the operations of water districts to the tune of P1 billion in deferred payments a month.
LWUA Chief Jeci Lapus issued this statement in response to a bill proposed by Senator Francis Tolentino, which seeks a moratorium on all residential utility bills during a state of calamity.
Tolentino’s bill stipulates that bills incurred during the moratorium would be payable in three equal monthly installments, without interest, after the state of calamity is lifted.
But Lapus said that 60 percent of water districts in the country are small scale and do not have enough reserve funding to deal with a moratorium.
