ERC approves Meralco's prepaid electricity service

The Energy Regulatory Commission approved Meralco's prepaid electricity program, a report on GMA New's "24 Oras" newscast said on Thursday. 

 

The Kuryente Load service allows residents to have an electricity meter installed in their home without paying a service deposit. 

 

Customers just need to "load up" anytime, at least P100, to get electricity supplied to their residence or place of business.

 

Subscribers get a notification in their mobile phone everyday that updates them about their power consumption and load balance.. 

 

Once they have consumed their load, their power will automatically get cut. But it will resume in just five minutes, if they load up again at a store that offers Kuryente Load services. 

 

A Meralco official also pointed out that Kuryente Load helps customers monitor and regulate their consumption. 

 

"Sa mga existing postpaid customers namin na nabibigitan sa pagbayad ng bill, hindi na sila magugulat. Sa end of the month nalang nila nalalaman 'yung bill nila, pero ngayon, since araw-araw kami nagpapadala, araw-araw nakikita rin nila. So, pwede sila mag-adjust kung paano sila kumunsumo," said Kuryente Load program's project manager Mara Leviste-Chan. 

 

Currently, the Kuryente Load program has 5,000 subscribed units in Rizal and Manila. Meralco is planning to add more units in Pasig, Caloocan, and Quezon cities and Cavite province. 

 

The program is also applicable to condominiums, subdivisions, and government offices. 

 

No more jumpers 

 

Meralco hopes that introducing Kuryente Load service will lessen the use of electrical jumpers. 

 

But it looks like the company does not have to wait for too long. 

 

Once blacklisted by Meralco because of non-payments and use of jumpers, some residents of a small street in Sampaloc, Manila have already subscribed to the service. 

 

Take Erlinda Gabisan, for example. She used to pilfer electricity but after her community was hit by a fire because of an electrical circuit overload, she vowed not to do it again.

 

"Hindi kami kinakabahan na masunog o mag-overload... Kung wala po kaming pera, hindi kami naaano [kinakabahan] na baka maputulan 'yung sinasaksakan namin kasi sarili na po namin," she shared.  — Trisha Macas/ELR, GMA News