Don't Be Shocked With Your Meralco Bill
Don't be shocked with your latest Meralco bill. Here’s what actually happened (Updated)
by Cris Laraño
There’s a song by the American rock band, R.E.M., that captures the upheaval wrought by Covid-19: “It’s The End of The World As We Know It.”
Healthcare systems, jobs, the economy, and life in general, all in flux. Nine weeks into the pandemic, there are few certainties left.
So it remains an undeniable relief to have continuous electricity even when bills aren’t paid on time. With electricity comes everything that makes being stuck at home bearable: comfort, good hygiene, food security, safety, and connections to the world at large.
Stringent enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) measures kept meter readers from the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) from doing their job in March and April. Thus, Meralco has turned to a consume-now, pay-later setup as the least disruptive option. The collective peace of mind that it initially created now seems shaken as overdue bills arrive.
Meralco assures its power consumers that it charges only for what energy is consumed.
Residential power consumers are not the only ones worried.
Going concerns
Newly open for less than a month, Printplate Corp. in Quezon City heeded the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine imposed by government on March 16. Operations came to an abrupt halt.
Its small printing operations could have earned Printplate an estimated P900,000 within the two-month period since the lockdown. On top of foregone earnings and accumulating fixed costs, it must deal with the cost of electricity, its second largest expense.
As with other Meralco residential and business customers, Printplate’s owners brace themselves for a possible shock once their electric bill for May arrives.
Consumers who received their May bill and have yet to pay for the amount charged therein can set this aside. They will receive a bill for June, which includes their actual consumption from the last meter reading to the June reading, explains Joe Zaldarriaga, assistant vice president for Meralco’s public information office, in a news briefing on June 6. It stands to reason that the amount due is higher than the usual single-month bill, as this also includes the unbilled actual consumption during the ECQ period, or a total of four months.
Flexible adjustments
Letters explaining the adjustment computation will be sent to each customer, residential, and business alike in their June bills. There is also a detailed breakdown of charges at the back of the bill.
Business customers are required by their agreement with Meralco to pay for at least 70 percent of the contracted electricity supply, called the Guaranteed Minimum Billing Demand (GMBD) charge.
To help its business partners recover faster Meralco has suspended the GMBD charge during the quarantine period from March 16 to June 30, and instead, they will just pay for their actual demand readings. This adjustment will provide business customers much-needed relief during these challenging times.
Meralco already redeployed meter readers beginning early May. This should reassure agitated electricity consumers over Meralco’s use of consumption estimates in their May bills, as discrepancies between estimates and actual usage have already been reconciled.
To help its business partners recover faster Meralco has suspended the GMBD charge during the quarantine period from March 16 to May 31, and instead, they will just pay for their actual demand readings. This adjustment will provide business customers much-needed relief during these challenging times.
Meralco already redeployed meter readers beginning early May. This should reassure agitated electricity consumers over Meralco’s use of consumption estimates in their May bills, as discrepancies between estimates and actual usage have already been reconciled.
Those who have already paid their May bill will have the amount credited in their next billing. Zaldarriaga underscores that business customers can pay 1/4 of their current charges stated in their June bill by June 30, with the rest payable over a four-month period every 15th starting July through October.
“At this point, our main concern is to keep the lights on. To ensure that we all have electricity in our homes and as businesses slowly start to operate and pick up. We are there to provide that level of service,” he adds, also stressing “disconnection is not really part of what we are thinking of right now in terms of our service to our customers.”
High tempers
Those who still feel overcharged should re-evaluate their current situation. Shut-in 24/7 with family and domestic staff, everyone is avid for news and entertainment, working, schooling and socializing online. Electric fans and air conditioners hum day and night to battle soaring temperatures. Refrigerators and freezers store bulk meals for quick reheating in the microwave.
With summer at its peak, temperatures climbed to as high as 37.30C, but the heat index, which factors in humidity, is often higher at a suffocating 420 C. When temperatures soar, appliances with compressors (such as air conditioners and refrigerators) work harder.
The Meralco Powerlab estimates there is a 25 percent to 40 percent surge in power consumption during summer months, even if appliances are used for the same duration as during the cooler months of December to February. Since these appliances are used more heavily in summer, power consumption rises as well.
As for businesses whose operations were suspended because of the extended community quarantine, they need not worry about being overcharged, too.
“The largest 1,000 or so Meralco customers are on automated meter reading,” states Lawrence Fernandez, vice president and head of Meralco’s Utility Economics Department. “Some of our business customers got their regular bills based on actual meter readings (done remotely) during the ECQ."
Related: Understanding Your May Bill
Smarter solutions
One way to prevent any confusion over power usage and billing is the deployment of technologies that would have improved operational efficiency, enabling consumers to take control of their power consumption and bills.
One of these is the Smart Grid, which Meralco has been advocating for many years.
A Smart Grid creates a network of smart meters, communications systems, and data management systems. In simple terms, it feeds information directly to the power distributor and the customer.
The Smart Grid can offer consumers regular monitoring of their electricity consumption, for better management of power use and budgeting.
It even allows customers to avail of prepaid services, where units of electricity can be purchased like loads for mobile phones.
It literally means, power management at your fingertips.
Keeping everything going
Indeed, it becomes increasingly difficult for Meralco and power generators to keep the lights on without incurring huge losses.
Despite the spike in residential consumption, Fernandez notes a drop of as much as 30 percent in electricity sales during ECQ, because commercial and industrial customers account for the bulk of users in Meralco’s service areas. This franchise consists of Metro Manila and nearby provinces, whose combined output accounts for more than half of the country’s gross domestic product.
Meralco has invoked force majeure to seek a reprieve from its power suppliers; they could have required the power distributor to honor offtake agreements and compel it to pay for electricity it could not sell.
Instead, Meralco and its contractors arrived at a compromise that yielded reductions in charges for March and April, of a little over P1 billion. Meralco passed on that amount to consumers in the form of lower generation charges in the latter’s bills for April and May.
Government regulators have also agreed to stop collecting the environmental charge and universal charge this June.
Meralco understands the conundrum of consumers, who reasonably want to get the most out of the juice powering their homes and businesses, in exchange for dues owed to the utility.
This is why Meralco offers them convenient payment terms on their electric bills, and reduced generation charges. It also assures consumers that with meter readers now redeployed, they will be paying only for their actual consumption. In addition, the utility offers tech-driven solutions to give consumers the power to manage their electricity usage.
In these difficult times, Meralco continues in its mission to be a trustworthy partner, providing residents and businesses with sufficient, reliable, and quality electricity.
To learn more, contact your Relationship Manager, call 16210 or email us at corporatepartners@meralco.com.ph.
Story originally posted on Power Club.