ERC to issue rules on prepaid electric meter use

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is expected to issue soon the rules on the use of prepaid electric meters once it has finalized public consultations and hearings.

“I urge the electricity stakeholders, especially the consumers, to submit their comments on the revised draft rules and attend future public consultations to expedite the finalization of the rules,” ERC chairperson Zenaida Ducut said.

She said the prepaid metering system will help consumers manage their power bills and eventually lower their consumption.

The ERC said prepaid meter deposits would be purely voluntary and it would be the distribution utilities that would shoulder the expenses for installing these specialized meters.

“The prepaid retail electricity service or PRES is one of the innovations being introduced so that consumers can have more power to control their electricity bills,” Ducut said.

She observed that this system works similar to the prepaid scheme in the telecommunication industry.

“Consumers can buy electric energy credits or load like mobile phones. They can monitor their consumption in real time and also know how much credits remain. The meter system will warn the consumer when the load is nearing zero to avoid automatic disconnection,” the ERC chief said.

“The telecommunications industry has revolutionized this form of service some years back when it offered prepaid cell phone cards, which come now in intangible cost-effective electronic forms. The ERC foresees an eventual acceptance by certain electricity consumers of the PRES,” she added.

Based on the proposed guidelines, a prepaid electric meter will have the capability to load the purchased energy, to display real time information on load consumption, and give a warning signal that the load is nearing zero. 

The prepaid meter should contain the current balance, time and date, previous 30 day-consumption and number of days into the current 30 day-period and consumption in kilowatthour.

Prepaid meters, the ERC said, should likewise possess an average accuracy of as close as possible to the condition of zero error before they are placed in service.

The prepaid meter shall be subject to ERC testing and certification. The ERC will also attach a warranty seal to the meter.

The ERC would also ask the distribution companies to use prepaid meters certified by the International Electro-Technical Commission or the American National Standards Institute to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the meters.

Manila Electric Co., which has over four million customers, is already testing its prepaid meter scheme.

Based on earlier estimates, each meter may cost between P8,000 to P10,000. But Meralco said it is still exploring all possible schemes to lessen the cost of the meter installation.