Manila Water, Maynilad to begin meter reading, bill delivery on June 1

Water concessionaires Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. will begin meter reading and bills delivery next month.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Regulatory Office announced a schedule for both lifeline and non-lifeline consumers of water concessionaires.

Lifeline customers are those who consume 10 cubic meters or less in a month, while non-lifeline consumers are those with consumption exceeding 10 cubic meters.

Based on the MWSS RO’s schedule, meter reading and bills delivery for water concessionaires' customers will start on June 1.

To recall, Manila Water and Maynilad temporarily suspended meter readings and onsite billing activities due to the enhanced community quarantine over Luzon in March. 

Water consumption during the ECQ - from March 17 to May 31 - will be computed based on consumers’ average consumption for the past three months prior to the lockdown.

In a separate statement, Manila Water said that if pre-ECQ bills or those with due date prior to March 16 remain unpaid, disconnection may begin July 1.

For post-ECQ bills or those with due dates from May 16 onwards, the normal 60-day lead time before disconnection applies, "so disconnection may begin July 16," Manila Water said, noting that this applies for both regular and lifeline customers.

For ECQ bills, or those that have due dates from March 16 to May 15, the water firm said due dates have all been reset to May 16.

“For non-lifeline customers, the 60-day lead time before disconnection will also be observed,” it said.

“However, since we will begin our normal read and bill activity on June 1, notices and reminders will be sent beginning July 16 and disconnection may begin August 1,” it added.

Lifeline customers will be offered a three-month or June to August installment plan only for ECQ bills and disconnection related to ECQ bills may begin September 1.

“Their billing statement will reflect the installment amount in a separate line apart from current billing and past due, if any,” Manila Water said.

Maynilad, for its part, said it is giving a longer grace period—or until August 31—to settle bills that have accumulated from March to May 2020, including any arrears from February that might have been left unpaid prior to ECQ.

Beyond this period, it said “Notice of Disconnections” will start appearing in September 2020 bills.

“For non-lifeline customers, they have until July 31, and ‘Notice of Disconnections’ in their case would start appearing in August 2020 bills,” Maynilad said.

It said the June 2020 bills will already reflect actual consumption, as well as adjustments from when the bills were averaged during ECQ. —LDF, GMA News