Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday urged power distributor giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to extend its installment-based payment scheme for its consumers to help them cope with their economic difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic that remains a threat to the country’s economy.
(Albert Calvelo / Senate PRIB / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Hontiveros warned that sudden stricter payment policies could lead to a “disconnected nation” that will make life harder for poor families and derail efforts to revive the economy.
“Hindi maganda na ngayong 2021, maliban sa COVID-19 ay magkaroon din ng epidemya ng tanggalan ng kuryente sa ating bansa (It’s not good that this year 2021, aside from COVID-19, we will have a pandemic brought about by the lack of power in our country),” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“Mas mahihirapan umahon ang bansa mula sa pandemya at sa bagsak na ekonomiya kung mas maraming Pilipino ang mapuputulan ng kuryente sa kanilang mga kabahayan dahil sa mga polisiya ng Meralco (It’s more difficult for the nation to rise from the pandemic and for the economy to recover if more Filipinos will experience power cuts due to Meralco’s policies),” she said.
Meralco had earlier announced that it has begun sending out notices of disconnection to consumers using 201 kilowatt-hours and more and who are behind in their monthly payments.
According to the electricity distributor, it will also be increasing power rates by up to P8.7497 per kWh this year, which means that an average household consuming 200 kWhper month will be charged an additional P55.
Hontiveros said the disconnection policy, combined with new rate adjustments in the generation charge, is on top of the already high regular monthly electricity bills consumers must pay.
The senator said she hopes Meralco will stick to its corporate motto of “May liwanag ang buhay” and work with the government towards programs that will prevent the denial of power services to many Filipinos struggling amid the pandemic.
“Electricity is an essential need lalo na ngayong may pandemya (especially during this pandemic),” she said.
“Hindi siguro kalabisan na humiling pa ng makatwirang palugit. Bago ang lahat, kapakanan muna ng ating mga kababayan ang pangunahin na mas dapat inuuna, bago ang kita (I don’t think it’s too much to ask for some consideration. Before anything else, we need to look after the welfare of our people before any profit),” she said.
She said Meralco should work with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and explore the possibility of extending its debt restructuring program, which offers flexible or staggered payment options for consumers having difficulty paying their electricity bills so they could avoid disconnection.
“Meralco’s earnings in the past decade have reached P10-billion annually, and remained profitable even amid the pandemic with P21-billion total profit in 2020,” she said.
“Siguro naman, hindi hamak na may kapasidad ang Meralco, ang mga power suppliers at kanilang mga banko na i-manage ang problema sa utang kumpara sa pinapasan ng mga consumers ngayon (No doubt Meralco, its power suppliers and their banks have the capacity to manage their debts compared to our consumers today),”
“Accommodating this installment-based payment scheme will also ensure that more Filipinos will not get disconnected and will remain as Meralco’s customers, which will be beneficial in the long run,” she said.