By Myrna M. Velasco The customers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) had been afforded payment leeway of up to 30 days on their electric bills given the imposed month-long lockdown in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon. “For all Meralco bills due from March 1 to April 14, 2020, we are providing a 30-day payment extension from your due date,” the utility firm has stipulated in an announcement through the media. That added time span then will provide ease of mind to its subscribers who are getting anxious as to how they can settle financial obligations falling due if government requires them to be confined in their homes for some time. The ‘community quarantine’ was implemented by the government as its utmost measure to contain the spread of the death-dealing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. For Metro Manila, the lockdown started on Sunday (March 15); and this is expected to end by April 14; while the ‘enhanced community quarantine’ for the rest of Luzon shall be until April 12. Meralco is not just serving the electricity requirements of end-users in Metro Manila, but also in other nearby provinces such as in Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Pampanga and Quezon provinces. The utility firm also reiterated that its scheduled maintenance activities shall be deferred until the conclusion of the government-enforced community quarantine, “unless these are necessary to ensure continued electricity service.” The power firm has just reported recently that its customer count had expanded by 4.0-percent to 6.9 million as of end December last year. Its electricity sales volume had grown 6.0-percent last year, and that was mainly driven by increased consumption of residential and commercial end-users; while industrial customers were also at a growth pace of 4.0-percent. The company noted that the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and the steady contribution of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors boosted the growing customer base outside of Metro Manila. In terms of usage across residential end-users, the most remarkable volume growths had been logged for those in Batangas, Cavite, Quezon, Bulacan and Pampanga.