Energization for PEZA-accredited businesses
Meralco and PEZA collaborate to make energization easier for PEZA-accredited businesses
How will the energization pilot program help spark business recovery?
By Meralco Power Club
Published Jan 12, 2022
Meralco and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reached an agreement to implement the digitization of applying for CFEIs for PEZA-accredited businesses on November 24.
Making sure a new business has electricity can be a complex process that could take days. With Meralco and Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)’s newly minted partnership, the processing time to secure electric connection will soon be shortened, from making at least four visits to the LGU office down to just one.
Meralco and PEZA entered into an agreement on November 24 to implement the electronic Certificate of Final Electrical Inspection (eCFEI) program for PEZA-accredited businesses. Under this program, applicants will no longer have to secure their CFEIs through multiple physical visits to PEZA offices when applying for a service connection.
Business owners need to secure a document called a CFEI, issued by PEZA, and should be submitted to Meralco to ensure that electrical wirings have been properly inspected. This process requires physical visits to the PEZA office. The time spent and physical presence requirement can be taxing and even risky, especially with the ongoing pandemic. It is one of the last but most important steps to legally electrifying a space.
With the eCFEI system in place, PEZA will directly issue the applicants’ eCFEIs to Meralco, which in turn will notify customers of the receipt so that the business customers can move forward with their applications. This makes the process more convenient for businesses that would otherwise need to wrestle with the logistics of securing the certificate at PEZA offices, and then transmitting them to Meralco afterwards. This will also be safer for the applicants’ employees as it eliminates the need for physical visits to PEZA offices.
A three-month pilot implementation of the program began on December 1, 2021 within the Meralco Cavite Economic Zone. The full implementation is targeted to start on March 1, 2022 and will cover all PEZA-accredited businesses located within the Meralco franchise area.
During the signing of the agreement, Meralco was represented by First Vice President, Customer Retail Services and Chief Commercial Officer Ferdinand O. Geluz, Senior Vice President, Legal and Corporate Governance Office Head Atty. William S. Pamintuan, Vice President, Electric Distribution Development Group Head Ireneo Acuña, and Meralco Ecozone Power General Manager Roberto Galang.
Meanwhile, PEZA was represented by Director General Brigadier General Charito B. Plaza, Deputy Director General for Policy and Planning Tereso O. Panga, and Cavite Economic Zone Administrator, Officer-in-Charge Deputy Director General for Operations, Atty. Norma B. Tanag.
“This indeed is a very timely initiative, as we sign to become partners in providing the eCFEI service in our various economic zones. PEZA is now embarking on very aggressive and dynamic programs spelled out by our transformation roadmap, where we have to address and enhance the ease of doing business in the Philippines and enhance the efficiency factors needed by our present and future investors. May we continue in uniting to achieve our goal of fully industrializing the country and transforming the Philippines into a self-reliant, self-sustaining, resource-generating, digitalized, and export-driven economy,” said Plaza.
“The implementation of the eCFEI project is a testimony to both PEZA’s and Meralco’s commitment to our customers and to our nation, to ensure that we continue to deliver excellently to our customers. As an end-to-end energy solutions partner, we want to continue creating value and innovating services, to enable our customers to operate or expand their businesses as quickly as possible by making the process of electrification truly digital”, said Geluz.
Meralco introduced the eCFEI program way back in 2015 to expedite the electric service application process for its residential customers. This initiative proved to be valuable today given the movement restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has run succesfully since and has now been extended to the business sector.
#ServiceWithPassion
To learn more, contact your Relationship Manager, call 16210 or email us at corporatepartners@meralco.com.ph.
Join Meralco Corporate Partners on Viber.
Story originally posted on Power Club.
