ERC to Meralco: Refund customer P1.8 M

MANILA, Philippines - The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered yesterday the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to refund its customer P1.8 million for overbilling him in 1998.

ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar also fined Meralco P100,000 for “negligence in the conduct of its business in distributing electricity” to complainant William Chan.

“It is the right of every customer to have accurate meters that guarantee the correct registration of their electricity consumption,” he said.

Salazar called on the country’s distribution utilities to “ensure that customers are fairly billed for electricity consumption based on accurate reading and computation of properly installed meters.”

In his complaint, Chan, who is in the ice business, alleged that he discovered that one of the Meralco meters installed outside his plant was missing on Nov. 16, 1998.

 Chan claimed he noticed that his monthly energy consumption was consistently pegged at 165,240 kWh for three consecutive months despite the absence of a functional electric meter.

He pointed out that Meralco had been billing him based solely on an assumed reading.

Chan filed the complaint after receiving a billing statement in which Meralco charged him P205,084.40 after replacing the missing meter.

He said he settled the amount “under protest” to avoid disconnection and interruption of his business.

According to the ERC, an analysis of the power factor used led to findings that Meralco had excessively billed Chan.

The ERC also maintained that Chan must not be made to pay for electricity that was not actually consumed.

It added that Meralco is expected to ensure during monthly readings that its meters are properly installed.

 It also pointed out that such meters must be shown to be operating under normal conditions, considering that Meralco has the technical skills and expertise for their installation.

The ERC added that Meralco acted with “evident malice and bad faith” in its dealings with Chan. 

In its decision, the ERC said the amount payable to Chan includes the refund, fines and interest.

Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldariaga was unavailable for comment.