Meralco refund set in November

MANILA, Philippines – Some 1.8 million residential customers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will start getting refunds on their meter deposits plus the corresponding interest in November this year.

At a press conference yesterday, Meralco first vice president and customer retail services head Roberto Almazora said about 61 percent of the total P2.8-billion refund will go to residential customers.

“Meralco stands firm in giving its customers what they are entitled to receive in accordance with the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) guidelines. It is ready to begin the meter deposit refund by November, way before the January 2009 deadline,” Almazora said.

The remaining 39 percent of the refund will be paid to commercial and industrial customers.

As proposed, the refund will be done in phases. Meralco will inform each customer bracket of the time and place or when and where they can get their corresponding refund. All customers will be required to submit proper identification to be able to get their refund.

The refund process, which will take about five years to implement, will cover customers from 1987 to 2004.

Since only half of the meter deposit, or about P410, was charged to customers, especially residential ones, refund will amount to approximately P800 each including interest.

Interest rates were computed based on the approved guidelines of the ERC. These will range from six percent to 10 percent depending on the time the customers got their meters.

Customers may also opt to choose how to get their meter deposit refund, either in cash or in check, or credit to future bills or to apply to payables or unpaid electricity bills.

Unclaimed refunds will be put in an escrow account in a bank to be determined by the ERC. After 10 years, the ERC will decide what to do with this account.

Meralco said the refund would not in any way affect their bottomline as this will be part of the company’s cash flow.

“We could manage, with P2.8 billion spread over five years,” Meralco finance head Daniel Tagaza said.

In 1987, the Board of Energy (BOE) allowed all distribution utilities (DUs) to collect the meter deposit. The meter deposit was then affirmed by its successor, the Energy Regulatory Board (ERB), and then the ERC. However, with changes in the regulatory environment, ERC later mandated all DUs to stop collecting the meter deposit.

“The Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers issued in June 2004 and the Distribution Services and Open Access Rules (DSOAR) in 2006 ordered all DUs like Meralco to stop collecting the meter deposit,” he said.

In June 4, 2008, ERC released the meter deposit refund (MDR) guidelines for all DUs in the Philippines, which became effective July 5. Under these guidelines, the MDR should begin the refunds within six months after its release, which means not later than January 2009.

As this developed, Meralco head of legal department Monico Jacob said they would be filing a motion of judicial determination on probable cause in connection with the syndicated estafa case filed against its officers.

“We will file this case at the Pasig Regional Trial Court so we will know if there is really estafa case against Meralco officials,” Jacob said.

Jacob said they also have an option to file a case against National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (Nasecore) if the group is found to be “harassing” Meralco.

“We do not see any reason for the filing of the case of syndicated estafa. This case is apparently related to the meter deposit refund. But we are now undertaking the refund, so why do they have this case,” Meralco vice president for corporate communications Elpi Cuna said.

Cuna also questioned the “motive” of Nasecore in concentrating its attack on Meralco.

“This is pure harassment. There are other players in the industry like other DUs, National Power Corp., Philippine Electricity Market Corp., National Transmission Corp.,” he said.

The case stemmed from the complaint affidavit for syndicated estafa filed on May 29 by Nasecore against Lopez-controlled Meralco in relation to Presidential Decree 1689.

On the same day, Nasecore filed a supplemental affidavit calling the DOJ chief’s attention to the fact that the complainants against Meralco were ordinary citizens, who thus requested that the filing fee for the case be considered as a lien on any monetary sums which Meralco will be made to pay or refund.

Nasecore’s Pete Ilagan said their lawyers followed up through a letter dated June 2, 2008 the request for the setting aside of the filing fee, to which Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez issued a letter directive granting Nasecore’s request that the filing fee be considered as a lien on account of its case being imbued with public interest.