Meralco to heed ERC order halting disconnections for May to July bills

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is currently reviewing the possible suspension of certain pass-on charges reflected in the electricity bills of consumers.

In Sandra Aguinaldo’s report in “24 Oras” on Wednesday, it was hot and dim at Lina Nabias’s eatery in Manila as she tried to minimize consumption to keep her electricity bill low.

“This is not enough because I still have to borrow money to pay my electric bill. If I don’t do that, my power line will be disconnected,” she said.

To help the public amid the rising price of commodities and services, the ERC ordered distribution utilities to halt power disconnections of residential and non-residential consumers who failed to pay their bills from May 2026 to July 2026.

Consumers using no more than 200 kilowatt-hours can also settle their bills in installments for up to three months, the ERC said. At current rates, that is equivalent to nearly P3,000 per month.

Lina is no longer qualified for the program – but even if she was qualified, she is not interested in paying for her bill in installments.

“I will just have backlogs, so it’s better for me to pay everything at once,” she said.

Asked what the government’s solution should be: “Just lower the electricity rates so we will pay less.”

For its part, the ERC admitted that these measures are only temporary remedies.

The ERC is also reviewing requests to suspend the Green Energy Auction (GEA) Allowance and the Feed-in Tariff Allowance – both of which are passed on to consumers to fund renewable energy initiatives.

“Regarding the GEA allowance, we are currently assessing if there are sufficient funds to cover the costs – essentially looking into whether we can suspend collections for now and simply resume in the coming months once this crisis is over,” said ERC chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan.

“... And this will only be implemented if there are still enough funds to pay the renewable energy companies, who are entitled to their government-guaranteed tariff rates,” he added.

On the other hand, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said it would comply with the ERC’s directive.

“In line with this, we assure our customers that we will comply with the ERC’s directive for all DUs to suspend disconnection activities for billing periods covering May to July 2026,” MERALCO said in a statement.

“Customers may also request for flexible payment measures in accordance with ERC’s Advisory," it added. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/JMA, GMA News