Julia Christine Botin

Meralco says looking to refund P19 billion to customers

Workers inspect an electric meter installed above ground in Manila on January 11, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Electric Meter Reading

Alvin Elchico

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Meralco said it is set to file a petition to refund P19 billion pesos covering overrecoveries from July 2022 to December 2024.</p><p>The Energy Regulatory Commission earlier ordered Meralco to file for a refund for the lapsed period when there is no reset of its actual weighted average tariff or AWAT.</p><p>Meralco Head for Utility economics Larry Fernandez said the company has already published the AWAT refund details in newspapers and the next step would be to file it anytime soon with the ERC.</p><p>According to Fernandez, Meralco proposes to implement the refund for 3 years, credited to the bills of its customers. </p><p>On the average, all kinds of customers will get P0.11/kwh refund for 3 years but specifically for residential customers, the actual refund is P0.19/kwh.</p><p>ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said the commission has not yet received a copy of the petition. But the ERC, she said, has 75 days to issue a provisional approval of the petition, from the day it is filed.</p><p>Dimalanta said the P19 billion figure may still be changed if the commission adjusts the amount based on careful examination of its experts. But Dimalanta also clarified that the commission will not likely exhaust the 75-day limit and opt to issue a provisional authority.</p><div><strong>P100 BILLION REFUND?</strong></div><p>Last week, Senator Risa Hontiveros also asked Meralco to refund over P100 billion in alleged overcharges to consumers. But Meralco Spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said the P100 billion has no basis at all and all refund orders must emanate from the regulator.</p><p>Former ERC Commissioner Alfredo Non had earlier revealed that based on his computation, from 2015 until today, Meralco stands to refund over P100 billion due to overcollection since its average distribution rate is much higher than it should be.</p><p>While the ERC has settled the issue, Non went to court and the issue remains pending until today.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IM-oL6T509w?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Meralco said it is set to file a petition to refund P19 billion pesos covering overrecoveries from July 2022 to December 2024.</p>

Meralco said it is set to file a petition to refund P19 billion pesos covering overrecoveries from July 2022 to December 2024.