Meralco to reflect ‘deposits’ in bills

Published November 6, 2017, 3:16 PM By Myrna M. Velasco

https://business.mb.com.ph/2017/11/06/meralco-to-reflect-deposits-in-bills/

Power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is now working on a system that will enable it to reflect ‘bill deposits of customers’ on its monthly billings.

Meralco First Vice President Ivanna G. dela Pena said “there is already a mechanism that is in place,” but she indicated they will go a bit further if rules or government policies will require them to present bill deposit details in the monthly accounts of customers or subscribers.

“Now just to put it in the bill, we are already talking to our technical people and they will be able to do it if the requirement is to put it in the bill,” she stressed.

Dela Pena qualified “we’ve always been transparent in terms of how much is the total amount of the bill deposits that we have collected.”

She noted that “following the Magna Carta (for Electricity Consumers), we are implementing an annual update of bill deposits.”

In that sense, the Meralco executive said “we are able to inform the customer of how much is the bill deposit that he has paid as well as the accrued interest.”

Dela Pena added that “based on this updating, which is done every anniversary of a customer’s service, we will indicate whether you need to top up or if you will enjoy a refund based on your average bill for the past 12 months.”

On the accumulated bill deposits, she explained that the rules prescribe adherence to functional unbundling and making collections transparent in the financial statements, but not necessarily placing it in an escrow account.

“There is this new rule which had gone through public consultations, it says that it is not necessary to put it in a separate account, but definitely it should be reported in our books – like, how much is the bill deposit and that’s very transparent in our financial reports,” she stressed.

Meralco has clarified the issue in response to concerns raised by consumer advocacy group National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reform (Nasecore), primarily in a complaint that it filed with the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Dela Pena thus reiterated that “what is not being done yet is to reflect the bill deposit on a monthly basis. But in terms of being able to refund it, depending on the actual billings and if the customer is a good payer, it’s also automatic that he/she will enjoy a refund of the bill deposit. So these are the existing rules that we are fully compliant with.”