Meralco to continue assisting customers on payment issues

By letter to the editor February 14, 2021

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/02/14/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/meralco-to-continue-assisting-customers-on-payment-issues/840801/ 

 

This is in response to the Feb. 13, 2021 column of Al S. Vitangcol.

Meralco categorically denies any claim or accusation that the distribution utility disadvantages its customers in any way.

Contrary to Mr. Vitangcol’s claims, Meralco assures maximum consideration during the pandemic and continues to assist customers with all payment concerns.

As communicated through various channels, Meralco continues to extend and show maximum consideration to any and all customers, assisting them on a case-to-case basis about their payment or billing concerns to avoid disconnection.

Our primary focus during this pandemic is to keep our customers’ lights on, and disconnection is not at all a priority in our operations.

In fact, aligned with the recent directives of the government and the Department of Energy (DoE), No disconnection notices have been delivered to customers ranging from 100 kWh and below, as an additional grace period for them to prepare and settle their bills until the end of March.

This lifeline group consists of around 40 percent of the distribution utility’s customer-base and was granted an extra two-month leeway earlier this month. Notably, Meralco has been holding off disconnections since all the way back to March of 2020, when the pandemic began.

But, even for those who are in the 101 kWh and above bracket, Meralco nevertheless continues to show extra consideration and will assist the customer on a case-to-case basis to find the most convenient payment scheme possible for the consumer, given his or her situation.

Our customers can reach out to us at our hotline 16211, our social media accounts, or visit their nearest Meralco Business Center if they have any concern regarding payment of their bills. We will be more than ready and willing to help and ease our customers’ burden, especially during this pandemic.

We can work with our customers to determine the easiest and best payment scheme tailor-fit for their situation. And as a testament to our initiatives, more than 27,000 of our customers have actually already requested an instalment plan, 95 percent of whom are residential customers. And all these customers were immediately granted a more lenient and convenient payment plan.

Thus, for those with similar cases, we encourage them to reach out to us through the mentioned channels.

Regarding Mr. Vitangcol’s concerns regarding the delivery of disconnection notices, our personnel continue to follow and abide strictly by the proper and authorized process and guidelines regarding the delivery of disconnection notices, and the possible implementation of disconnection, if deemed necessary.

Our communication with our customers remains constant even throughout this pandemic, and we continue to update our customers through various channels, as needed. If we detect or discover any issue or problem, we promise to rectify the situation as soon as possible. But as a whole, our company upholds the highest standards of customer service and upholds the best practices in terms of our operations.

Regarding the operational concerns raised by the author, we wish to reassure customers that on the backend, our customer assistance, IT and commercial operations teams continue to work 24/7 to address any system or operational issues that may occur, given the challenging situation of the pandemic. But rest assured that any issues of the past have now been rectified, as we start this new year and return to business as usual.

But for any issues or concerns customers may yet still encounter moving forward, we of course welcome them to engage us through our various channels, and we will extend the necessary assistance to address the problem.

Lastly, we do sincerely apologize for any possible inconvenience our customers may have experienced or encountered recently, and we truly appreciate the patience and understanding shown to us during these trying times, as businesses strive to adapt to the new normal.

But nevertheless, Meralco commits to continuing its 24/7 service to our customers, not only promising to keep your lights on, but to go above and beyond our call of duty in order to aid the consumer in whatever way possible.

 

FERDINAND O. GELUZ
Engineer and Chief Commercial Officer
and Head of Customer Retail Services
Meralco