Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19) — A group of lawmakers called on the House of Representatives to investigate the sudden spike in electricity bills imposed by the Manila Electric Company while Luzon is under the community quarantine.
The bloc of congressmen from progressive groups, on Monday filed House Resolution 879 directing the Committee on Energy to investigate the implementation of hefty Meralco power rates “despite overcapacity of electricity supply.”
The resolution, shown to the media on Tuesday, cited the increase of ₱0.150 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the month of April, equivalent to a ₱21 upward movement in the total bill of ordinary residential customers consuming an average of 200 kWh.
“The recent Meralco justification that the surge in electricity bills of consumers is a result of higher consumption, is questionable especially since President [Rodrigo] Duterte reported a downward trend in demand during the lockdown period,” Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said in a statement.
Aside from Zarate, Bayan Muna Reps. Ferdinand Gaite nd Eufemia Cullamat, ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago co-authored the resolution.
The Department of Energy also called out the service provider Tuesday, citing numerous complaints received by its consumer welfare and promotion office, including the ₱47 convenience fee intended for Meralco’s online application system.
“Parang hindi po naging convenience ito, parang naging pabigat sa ating consumers kaya tinitingan rin po natin ito. Gusto po nating malaman kung bakit po nagkaroon ng ganitong additional charges,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.
[Translation: It didn’t seem like it was for everyone’s convenience, instead it only became a burden to our consumers so we are already looking into this. We want to know why additional charges were imposed.]
Cusi said the agency already wrote to Meralco last week to address these concerns.
Meanwhile, Senate energy committee chair Sherwin Gathcalian said his office already started initial inquiries on the matter, which will be tackled during the Joint Congressional Energy Commission hearing this Friday on the effects of COVID-19 in the power sector.
“I would like to remind Meralco of its obligation to follow the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) advisories dated April 15, 2020 and May 5, 2020, on the proper computation of electricity bills and correct payment dates of bills due within the ECQ period, which should start after the ECQ and should be in 4 monthly installments,” he said in a statement.
ERC Chair Agnes Devanadera said on Monday that it already required Meralco to submit corresponding data for validation of the accuracy of their billing calculations.
On May 15, Meralco said the March and April bills sent to consumers were estimated based on the average daily consumption from December 2019, January 2020, and February 2020 — when customers typically consumed less electricity as the weather was significantly cooler.
The bills received in May are based on the result of the actual kWh consumption from the current meter reading, with adjustments already reflected, coming from the estimated consumption done during the ECQ period, Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said.
Amid numerous complaints online, Meralco earlier reiterated that the bills it sent to its consumers were “fairly calculated,” with accurate and transparent meter reading activities in place.
