By Vanne Elaine Terrazola Senator Grace Poe on Monday urged the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to hold off the payment of electricity bills until it addresses its "unusually high" charges to consumers during the quarantine. Sen. Grace Poe
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) The chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services asked Meralco to settle the concerns over the high electricity bills received by residents this month. "We ask Meralco to issue a final and correct billing based on accurate meter reading of the actual kilowatt-hour consumption," Poe said. "Until such accurately updated bill indicating exact staggered due is received by customers, it is proper that they hold off payment," she added. Meralco had earlier attributed the significant increase in electricity bills to the enhanced community quarantine which forced people to stay home to prevent COVID-19 infection, thus, the higher consumption. The power distributor also explained that the March and April bills were based on the average daily consumption of consumers from December, 2019, January, 2020, and February, 2020. Poe, however, said that while she recognizes the efforts of Meralco to explain, "the confusing billings and unusually high charges have left many households in distress, especially those who lost their sources of income due to the lockdown." "Still reeling from the COVID-19 backlash, the last thing our consumers need are shocking electricity bills that could throw them off-track anew," she pointed out. Poe said Meralco, while correcting the electricity bills, should also assure continuous electricity in houses in the ongoing community quarantine. "As the company sorts out our billings, they should keep our lights on as uninterrupted power supply is crucial to run life-saving equipment in hospitals and to keep people connected," she said. Meralco had said that its meter-reading activities remain accurate and transparent. It also said that consumers will be allowed to settle their bills in four equal monthly payments.