Meralco ready to refund bill ‘overpayment’

Business Mirror
04 Mar 2014 
Written by Lenie Lectura 

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is ready to refund customers who had earlier opted to pay an amount representing the “deferred amount” reflected in their February bills. 
“We recognize the recent feedback received concerning the issues on the Deferred Amount and Total Amount Due for payment. Thus, in the coming March 2014 billing, the Deferred Amount will no longer be included in the Total Amount Due and an advisory on the bill will be made to further clarify and inform customers on what amounts to pay upon receipt of their electricity bills,” Meralco first Vice President and Head of the Regulatory Management Office Ivanna de la Peña said in a letter to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). 
“Furthermore, for customers who who had earlier opted to pay an amount representing the Deferred Amount, Meralco will implement a refund equivalent to said amount as credit to bill starting March 2014,” added de la Peña. 
The ERC has called the attention of Meralco because the utility firm’s enhanced billing format has caused confusion with respect to the amount that should be paid. 
“Changes introduced in the bill, particularly, Meralco’s move to reflect therein under heading Total Amount Due the supposed ‘balance from previous billing,’ which is a subject of the pending Supreme Court (SC) petitions questioning the same has caused a lot of confusion among the affected customers as to which amount they should actually pay,” the ERC told Meralco. 
De la Peña said the inclusion of the amount “Deferred, pending resolution of the SC temporary restraining order [TRO]” was to inform customers of the difference between their December 2013 bill and their actual payment on such bill. Nonetheless, she stressed that the amount remains “Deferred, pending resolution of the SC TRO.” 
“This was undertaken for transparency and for record purposes and it was never Meralco’s intent that the customer pay the amount labelled “Deferred, pending resolution of the SC TRO. We emphasize that Meralco has no intention of confusing our customers and/or mislead them into paying the amount covered by the SC TRO. We regret the confusion that the inclusion of the Deferred Amount in the Total Amount Due may have caused,” de la Peña said. 
The TRO involved Meralco’s P4.15 per kilowatt-hour rate hike in the December billing of customers.  
Meralco said it included the deferred charges in the total amount due to consumers despite the TRO to reflect the customer’s current charges and any unpaid balance from previous billing or billings under said customer’s account, which may include the deferred amount. 
“Our billing system automatically computes all amounts billed by Meralco, both Current Charges Due and the amounts from previous billings, which remain unpaid. Since some customers were billed prior to the SC TRO but may have paid only an amount equivalent to their November 2013 bills (where generation charge was at P5.6673 per kWh) after the SC TRO, the Deferred Amount will automatically be reflected as part of the Total Amount Due,” de la Peña said.  source