THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to explain the basis in calculating the kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption of its customers during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), particularly for the billing periods March, April and May 2020.
“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 Agnes Devanadera, ERC chairperson and chief executive off
In a May 15, 2020 letter, the ERC asked Meralco to submit documents explaining the basis on the determination of the kWh consumption of its captive customers during the ECQ as well 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 the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines used in the computation of the transmission rate for the aforesaid billing period apart from the uniform reportorial requirement for the stated periods.
“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 distribution services and open access rules (DSOAR) and implemented accurately the pertinent advisories that we issued on April 15 and May 5 relating to the implementation of pass thru charges to the consumers. We are adhering to our mandate of ensuring that the interest of the consuming public is promoted and protected,” Devanadera said in a statement.
Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga earlier said the amounts due for a portion of the March billing period and the entire April bill were estimated based on the average daily consumption of the past three months following the DSOAR issued by the ERC.
He explained the actual consumption based on the May meter reading are higher because the basis, December 2019, January 2020 and February 2020 were considered low consumption months as these were significantly cooler months compared to the summer months of March, April and May.
“Aside from these, the following factors may have affected customers’ May bill, including increased consumption during ECQ, as everyone is at home (when) appliances are usually switched on most of the time throughout the day…Also, temperatures are currently at a record high, leading to higher use of cooling devices,” Zaldarriaga said.
Meralco said the May bill is a result of the actual kWh consumption from the current meter reading with adjustments reflected from the previous estimated consumption.
Meralco said the May bill is based on the actual readings.
Zaldarriaga said unpaid bills with due date from March 1 to May 15, 2020 will be converted to four equal monthly installments.
