Meralco to refund customers P987M

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered distribution giant Manila Electric Co. to refund an initial P987.16 million to its customers, an amount that was charged at 22 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and intended for expenses related to the regulatory rate reset process.

Meralco is the largest electricity distributor in the Philippines with about eight million consumers in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and select areas in Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ERC said it previously allowed power distribution firms to collect up to 47 centavos per kWh to tap technical experts for the regulatory rate reset.

Under a rate reset process, a regulated entity must submit to the ERC its spending and proposed projects over a period, usually five years unless extended by the regulator. This will then be the basis of the distribution rate that will be passed on to consumers.

“However, no actual payments were made as the PDUs (private distribution utilities) did not engage said technical experts, and amounts were provided to the ERC under the annual government budget for these purposes,” it said.

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Also, the ERC similarly ordered 16 other distributors to give back to their customers a total of P189.98 million, representing collections made after July 2019.

“We are targeting the release of the Resolution within the month so it can be implemented in early 2025,” Dimalanta said when asked about the date for implementation.