Meralco defers bill deposit collection, proposes staggered payment scheme

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Friday announced it will defer the collection of bill deposits to January 2013, citing customer concerns as the reason for the change of heart.

 

“This our response to customer concerns, we will hold disconnection of customers already given notice to pay additional deposit,” Meralco first vice president Ivanna de la Peña said.

 

"We will issue another letter to affected customers that Meralco will offer a 12 month installment payment to begin in January 2013, and this will be those whose service anniversary month are October,  November and December," she also said.

 

This was announced in a meeting regarding the bill deposits spearheaded by power sector watchdog Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), where officials from the Department of Energy, Meralco and various consumer groups attended.

 

Bill deposits are collections by power retailers like Meralco and serve as insurance should consumers fail to settle bills. The rates of bill deposits differ, depending on the number of appliances or electricity consumed by customers.

 

For all customers from whom additional bill deposit is required, Meralco will implement a staggered collection scheme to make the payment easier for them. 

 

It proposed that from the original 30-day period of settling their bill deposits, Meralco will instead stagger the collection over a period of 12 months starting January 2013. The collection period also covers consumers who will receive notification letters in November and December.

 

According to Meralco, only 90,000 of its over four million customers received letters this October notifying them of the need to pay additional bill deposit. 

 

Meralco said its collection of bill deposits is consistent with various rules on the matter. The utility company also said the majority of its customers are not expected to be covered by the update of bill deposits. 

 

Meralco clarified that only customers who have received at least three disconnection notices or whose electric service has actually been disconnected in the past 12 months prior to their contract anniversary date have received these notification letters.

 

Customers who have been diligent in paying their electricity bills on or before due date did not receive letters, according to Meralco.

 

ERC executive director Francis Saturnino Juan said the commission would look at the concerns of consumers getting power from other distribution utilities and electric cooperatives.

 

"We will still be checking their implementation, if they have already started implementing and their manner of implementation," said Juan. — With Gian Geronimo/VS, GMA News