Meralco to complete test of prepaid scheme by June

Manila Standard Today

By Alena Mae S. Flores  Posted on Jan. 22, 2013 at 12:01am

Power distributor Manila Electric Co. expects to complete the pilot technical testing of prepaid retail electricity service in Angono, Rizal covering 200 households by the middle of the year.

“We’re giving [the testing] until mid-year because we want to make sure that it is running well,” Meralco senior vice president Al Panlilio said.

Prepaid electricity will allow household customers to manage their consumption to match their budget and income.

Panlilio said while the ongoing technical pilot covered only Angono, there were plans to expand it to other areas such as Taytay, Binangonan and Pasig.

The technical pilot covers households with an average monthly consumption of 200 kilowatt-hours a month.

“We’ll see how the technical pilot comes along,” he said, when asked when the other areas would be included in the pilot testing.

Panlilio said once the technical pilot proved successful, the commercial pilot testing would follow covering around 2,000 customers.

“The roll-out, we’ll see how it goes. So we gather all the experiences, what the customers want. Because we still have to apply to the ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] for the business rules. Once approved, we’ll officially launch the service,” he said.

He said only residential customers would be covered by the pilot testing for the prepaid retail electricity service despite the recent ruling of the ERC that even large power users could avail of the service.

“Because, we want make sure first that the network is okay,” he said.   

Panlilio said Meralco allocated $7 million for the entire prepaid retail electric service system.

“Prepaid electricity fits in with the Filipino’s penchant for sachet pricing, dovetails his cash flow, allows for control and sharing of expenses, and avoids the shock of a monthly bill,” Panlilio said earlier.

Meralco said customers were clamoring for prepaid electricity because of its benefits such as the ability to manage consumption, alignment of prepaid payments with paydays, return of their service deposits and the relaxation of some application requirements.

Meralco is the country’s biggest power distributor with over five million customers in its franchise area.  source