Meralco refunds lockdown bills
This will be for those unread meters during the lockdown
Meralco has started refunding P64 million in overpayments by customers during the months of
March to May.
Victor Genuino, Meralco Vice President and Customer Retail Services and Corporate Communications Head, relayed
this to the members of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
The body is conducting an inquiry on the spike in electricity bills of Meralco consumers on Wednesday.
“The meter reading costs not incurred during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) period for 6.7 million customers bills amounting to P64 million will be refunded beginning 15 July 2020.”
“This will be for those unread meters during the lockdown,” he said.
Meralco executives earlier made a commitment to refund any overpayment during the ECQ and MECQ following calls from lawmakers to recompute the bills based on actual consumption of its customers.
He also said that in June, Meralco was able to perform actual meter reading to 99 percent of its customers.
The firm admitted to have failed to conduct meter readings during the months in locked down areas.
He also said that in June, “Meralco was able to perform actual meter reading to 99 percent of its customers.”
Genuino also said Meralco has refunded the P12.6 million convenience fee charged to online transactions last June. He said Meralco will continue to shoulder the convenience fee until the end of the general community quarantine period.
Genuino also said the disconnection notice to those unpaid customers will be put on hold until September.
Amid mounting complaints due to high cost of billing, Meralco continues to augment its capacity to respond to customers concerns through its hotline and social media accounts, Genuino stated.
The Energy Regulatory Commission said it is processing more or less 50,000 complaints about high cost of electricity.