Bayan Muna urges Meralco to refund P29-B to consumers

MANILA — Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares and electric consumers advocacy group Matuwid na Singil sa Kuryente Consumers Alliance Inc. (MSK) have urged Meralco to refund the P29.6 billion it owes to consumers, for its overrecovery of allowed annual distribution charges to consumers from 2013 to 2018.”

“With the P50 billion anomaly exposed by former ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) Com. Alfredo Non and now this P29.6 billion overrecovery of Meralco, it can be seen that this monopoly in the power sector has so much anomalies to the disadvantage of consumers,” said Colmenares in a press statement on Tuesday.

“Congress should also probe this issue and ensure that this would never happen again. Meralco has been involved in many questionable acts like the unjust power rate hike in 2013 during the Malampaya shutdown and the midnight deals on seven power supply agreements (PSAs) that an investigation should be in order,” Colmenares added.

Late last year, MSK filed a petition with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the P29.6 billion refund.

Aya Jallorina, MSK’s executive director said her group is asking the ERC for the reduction in Meralco’s distribution, service and metering (DSM) rate charges.

“Meralco’s current rate was computed in 2013 and was based on lower energy sales of 30.61 billion kwh a year and an annual growth of 3.5 percent. Meralco sales have been growing at an average of 6.78 percent per year in the last nine years, resulting to a windfall of an estimated P29.6 billion in revenues up to 2018,” Jallorina said.