ERC asks Meralco to show proof of power bill computation

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is the latest government authority to require Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to explain the “power bill shock” that surprised consumers upon seeing big amounts on their monthly billings.

The industry regulator directed the utility firm to “show proof of its ba

sis in calculating the kilowatt-hour consumption for its captive customers” during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) periods from March to May.

ERC Chairperson Agnes T. Devanadera noted the regulatory body has been “bombarded with complaints on Meralco’s alleged high billings covering the past three months, including this May.”

Devanadera stressed, “We need to look into these consumers’ allegations,” and mandated the power firm “to submit to us data or information for us to validate the accuracy of their billing calculations.”

The ERC gave Meralco five days to explain upon receipt of the agency’s letter: (1) basis on the determination of the kilowatt-hour consumption of the customers within the questioned ECQ billings; (2) the power bills issued by the suppliers used in the computation of the generation rate for the same billing period; (3) the invoices from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for the transmission charges; and (4) the uniform reportorial requirement for the said billing period.

Devanadera stressed,“the data we required of Meralco will enable the Commission to determine if (it) has indeed complied with the relevant rules issued by the ERC.”

Last week, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi also asked the power utility giant to provide written explanation on the matter, as he claimed that this worried many consumers at a time when their pockets are in distress.

Estimated consumption

In a separate statement, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga explained that the March and April billings of consumers were “estimated consumption” based on the guidelines set by the ERC in the enforcement of the Enhanced Community Quarantine.

“The three months that were used as 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,” Zaldarriaga added.

He qualified that “as part of the ECQ period, some March and April bills were estimated based on the past three (3) months’ average daily consumption, following the Distribution Services and Open Access Rules (DSOAR) issued by the ERC.”

For the May billing, actual meter readings had been done.