Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21) — Meralco will shoulder the convenience fee charged to customers who settled their electric bills online during the two-month enhanced community quarantine period.
The ₱47 transaction fee from March 16 to May 15 for those who have been paying their electricity bills using the Meralco app will be refunded.
The service provider explained the additional charges. It said the charging of a convenience fee by a payment gateway provider is a common commercial practice in the online payment service industry, emphasizing the fees do not go to Meralco.
Meralco apologized after the Department of Energy flagged numerous complaints received by its consumer welfare and promotion office regarding the convenience fees.
“Perhaps what MERALCO should have done during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (“ECQ”) period – March 16 to May 15 – was to shoulder the Convenience Fee charged by the payment gateway provider considering that the MERALCO Business Offices and Bayad Center branches and partner outlets were closed during that time. I sincerely apologize for this lapse,” Meralco President and CEO Ray Espinosa explained to Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi in a written explanation.
Meanwhile, a group of lawmakers called on the House of Representatives to investigate the sudden spike in electricity bills imposed by Meralco while Luzon is under the community quarantine.
Meralco last week explained that electricity bill received in May, which is based on actual kilowatt per hour consumption from current meter reading, may be significantly steeper compared to those from the past months. It said the March and April bills 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.
It attributed the increased May consumption to stay-at-home rules under community quarantine and increased use of cooling devices amid the scorching heat.
