Cainta first to try ‘prepaid kuryente’

MANILA, Philippines - In a municipality in Rizal, there will no longer be monthly electricity bills, disconnection notices or reconnection fees.

At least 200 households and 1,000 market stalls in Cainta have shifted to the use of “prepaid kuryente,” Cainta Mayor Keith Nieto said yesterday.

Cainta is the first local government unit (LGU) in the country to have its market stalls subscribed to the prepaid power scheme, or the “Kuryente Load” project of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), in a bid to have the whole municipality enjoy lighting facilities.

The project aims to improve fiscal management because some market stalls under the LGU’s account have historically been problematic in terms of collection.

“But with ‘prepaid kuryente,’ this is no longer a problem as stall owners learn to manage their own consumption and are now responsible for paying their load,” said Alfredo Panlilio, Meralco’s senior vice president of customer retail services and corporate communications.

“This is a great example for other LGUs in terms of improving collections and exercising discipline in electricity consumption,” Panlilio added.

Under the scheme, prepaid load credits could be bought at Meralco business centers, Bayad centers and sari-sari stores.

“We have more than a million retailers already,” Panlilio noted.

Meralco would then send advisories, via text message, to prepaid users to inform them of their load balance.

Load credits do not have expiry dates and could be bought from a minimum of P100 to a maximum of P1,000.

The subscription of Cainta to the prepaid power scheme is part of the partnership between the municipal government and the power distributor.

The Cainta municipal government and Meralco signed over the weekend a memorandum of understanding (MOU) allowing for the strengthening of their collaboration for future development plans.

The partnership also covers the development of an electric vehicle, the implementation of a disaster preparedness program and a community electrification program in barangays Santo Domingo and San Roque.

“The signing of the MOU is a continuation of Meralco’s initiative to solidify partnerships with LGUs in order to contribute to the further improvement of basic government services and facilities,” said Panlilio.

Meralco earlier said it plans to commercially roll out the prepaid scheme in some areas in Metro Manila and Rizal province by the first half of 2015.