MANILA, Philippines—The Lopez-led Manila Electric Co. is now piloting the pre-paid metering scheme in preparation for a possible full-blast implementation of the program.
Meralco first vice president for customer retail services Roberto Almazora said on Wednesday the pilot would enable the distribution utility to test a prepaid metering technology that it could possibly use system-wide.
This would likewise allow the company to do a cost-benefit analysis of the program, he said.
"We’re in the process of implementing a pilot, as we want to test different technologies. We want to make sure that this works. We ordered some meters and we’re installing them in a site that we’ve already selected. We want to make sure that it’s running. We’re just testing the technology," he explained.
He said Meralco would start installing the prepaid electric meters within the month. The pilot program would involve around 100 households.
Meralco president and chief operating officer Jesus Francisco said the power distributor wanted to determine which technology would have the least cost impact on its customers.
Right now, he said available meters cost between P8,000 and P10,000 each.
In an earlier interview, Aboitiz Power Corp. president and chief executive Erramon Aboitiz said the company was not totally sold on the idea of prepaid metering for electricity, considering that the special meters for such service were still too pricey.
"Prepaid metering is still too expensive at this point. We have to find a cheaper alternative. Personally, I don’t know what model that is, since the South African model is the only one I’ve looked at so far. But it’s really too expensive," he said.
According to the nine-page draft rules on prepaid retail electricity service (PRES), a distribution utility wanting to offer the scheme should apply for the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval, showing that it would be able to provide the service without undermining consumer rights.
Before a power distributor can offer PRES to its residential clients, it must first show the ERC that the prepaid meters that it will use are compliant with the standards set by either the International Electrotechnical Commission or the American National Standards Institute.
The meters to be used should also be able to clearly inform power users of their current balance, time and date and a warning that their prepaid credits are about to be exhausted. These should also be able to store at least 60 days of the user’s electric consumption.
In forging a contract for the service with consumers, distribution utilities should clearly inform their customers that electric service would be interrupted if they fail to maintain a positive balance – just like with prepaid telecommunications services.
