Senator to power firms: No more ‘bill shocks’

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday urged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Department of Energy to order power distributors not to bill their customers without conducting actual meter readings after Metro Manila and nearby provinces were placed under lockdown anew.

“The consumers cannot afford another round of bill shock in their electricity bills,” Gatchalian, Senate energy committee chair, said in a statement.

Lockdown surprise

The senator was referring to the thousands of consumer complaints about bloated electricity bills from March to May after the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) issued bills based on estimated consumption when Metro Manila and its environs were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in March.

Meralco later apologized for not clearly specifying the spike in electricity bills and explained that the ERC had ordered power distributors to estimate customer consumption to protect their meter readers from COVID-19 infection and possibly spreading the new coronavirus.

Not only Meralco

Many other power distributors that were affected by the lockdown also issued bills based on estimates of customer consumption.

In July, the ERC ordered power distributors to refund overpayments during the ECQ period, applied a deferred payment scheme and allowed consumers to apply their overpayments on their future billings.

During a Senate hearing, Meralco chief executive Ray Espinosa also said that the company had decided not to disconnect service to unpaid accounts until Sept. 30 to ease the burdens of their customers during the pandemic.

Last Tuesday, the President reimposed a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) for two weeks, or until Aug. 18, in Metro Manila and the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan to stem the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

“We should have learned our lesson from our experience in the previous ECQ. We should ensure that everything is in order to prevent another cause of confusion for consumers,” Gatchalian stressed.

“Some consumers are still waiting for a refund,” the senator added. “We don’t want any more problems in the computation of the next bill statement.”‍ Gatchalian also urged the ERC to provide relief to consumers.

Ongoing meter readings

“Meter readings may not be possible due to the lockdown period. Add to this the possibility that a number of affected consumers may appeal anew for deferred or extension of payment in their monthly bills,” he added.

But Meralco said in a statement on Wednesday that it would continue to send personnel to read electricity meters even in areas under MECQ and asked local governments to allow the unhampered operations of its personnel.

“Meralco appeals to local government units and barangay officials to recognize meter readers as among the essential workers granted permission to work amid MECQ, and allow them access to read meters of residences,” the company, owned mostly by the Metro Pacific and JG Summit conglomerates, said in a statement.

“Rest assured this will be unobstrusive and the deployed meter readers will be in complete personal protective equipment, bearing in mind safety procedures,” the statement added.

“This will ensure that actual consumption for the month will be billed accordingly,” said Joe Zaldarriaga, company spokesperson. “Meralco business centers will also remain open to handle customer payments, concerns, inquiries and service applications.”