Meralco rates will be higher this June as these will reflect their total actual consumption during the lockdown period. Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) encounter criticism from customers last month, complaining of their high charges. The high bill resulted from Meralco’s computation of both the actual electricity consumption of its customers in May and estimated billing in March and April.
Meralco Spokesperson Joe R. Zaldarriaga said in a virtual briefing over the weekend about Meralco rates: “Ang bills na matatanggap nila ay naglalaman ng actual na konsumo sa loob ng apat na buwan. Asahan po na mas malaki ito kumpara sa usual na natatanggap nilang bill na para sa konsumo ng isang buwan lamang,”
“Dahil sa restrictions na ito, may natira pa pong 2.8 million customers na hindi nabasahan ng metro noong May kaya’t minabuti ng Meralco na huwag na munang magpadala ng bills hangga’t hindi pa nababasa ang kanilang actual consumption,” Mr. Zaldarriaga said
“Sa ngayon, ‘di pa namin masabi kung mai-invoke ang force majeure. Imo-monitor pa rin naman ang demand from our customers, kasi ‘yun ang pinaka-root ng pagi-invoke ng force majeure that when the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) started demand fell by 30% compared to its pre-ECQ levels,” Meralco Head of Utility Economics Lawrence S. Fernandez said.
In an advisory, the regulator told power utilities to allow their customers with 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and below of consumption in February to settle their unpaid bills during the quarantine period in six monthly installments, while those with above 200 kWh consumption can pay their March-May bills in four installments.
The installment bill will come as a separate charge that is due on every 15th day of the month, while a customer’s regular monthly bill is due on the last day of the month. More..
Philippine Stock Exchange $MER – Meralco shares as of 06/05/2020 03:30:00 PM Last traded price was 288.40 with a day change of -5.00 (-1.70%).
Stockbytes PH, June 8, 2020
Related: Stocks to Buy this Coronaconomy ; Emerging Markets VS Coronaconomy ; The Coronaconomy Battle ; Coronaconony Winners
*The owner of StockBytes PH is a licensed stock broker, contact us if you want to open an account.
Ready to start your financial journey? email us at [email protected] or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
