Meralco set to test prepaid service

Manila Times.net
Published : Monday, September 19, 2011 00:00 
Written by : EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO REPORTER


MANILA Electric Co. is set to pilot prepaid electricity early next year.


Alfredo Panlilio, Meralco senior vice president for customer retail services and corporate communications, said the company is evaluating vendor proposals for systems to implement the service in line with the guidelines issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission.


Prepaid electricity has been in operation in countries like South Africa and Indonesia, and more recently in India, Australia, and New Zealand. In South Africa and Indonesia, prepaid electricity is availed of by consumers using tokens and a meter with numbered keys where a code is punched in.


“What will make Meralco’s implementation different from those countries is our leveraging on the strength of prepaid telecoms in the Philippines,” said Panlilio. “The Filipino’s love affair with his prepaid mobile is a powerful vehicle we will ride on, making the Philippine implementation somewhat unique versus the early adopters of the service.”


The purchase of prepaid electricity from the country’s largest power distribution company will be the same experience as mobile loading. A consumer provides the store their subscriber information number and the store loads that number via text.


Consumers then get a confirmation text, the meter is loaded, and electricity is immediately provided.


When the load is running low, the consumer also gets a warning text, approximately four days before electricity is cut off.


Households that find prepaid a better system to match their income with their expenses will like this service as it makes control of expenses simple.


For houses with multiple families, the sharing of electricity costs is also made easy. Lessors and lessees are also potential customers since the prepaid service eliminates the persistent issue of lessees leaving behind bills.


“We also know good use cases with local government units, corporations, and small and medium scale enterprises. Government units who want to adhere to strict budgetary guidelines or companies who want to separate corporate-use facilities versus staff and personal-use areas may want to use prepaid,” Panlilio said.