Meralco ordered to refund nearly ₱20 billion to consumers
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to refund nearly ₱20 billion to its customers within a three-year period.
In a notice posted on Thursday, March 13, the ERC announced that Meralco is set to refund a total of ₱19.95 billion, which are costs from unutilized expenses that were intended for technical experts during the periodic regulatory rate reset.
Since no technical expert payments were made, Meralco will rebate an average of ₱0.1189 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to its consumers.
For residential consumers, ₱0.20/kWh will be refunded by the distribution utility (DU) over the next three years.
“Meralco shall implement the refund over a period of 36 months or until such time that the amount of over-recovery is fully refunded,” the ERC stated.
The cost return was initially proposed by Meralco earlier this year, accounting for the difference between the company’s actual weighted average tariff (AWAT) and the approved final distribution rate that was implemented in the lapsed period from July 2022 to year-end 2024.
The refund rate will be placed in a separate line item in customers’ bills and will be labeled as “AWAT/Collect.”
According to ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta, if the timeline had been adjusted, Meralco’s refund would have been slightly higher.
In an interview with Teleradyo Serbisyo, she explained that the rebate period was initially suggested to be two years, adding that, “the refund amount would have been higher... ₱0.18/kWh or ₱0.30/kWh for residential [consumers].”
Meralco applied the adjustment earlier this year in compliance with the ERC’s previous order in December, when regulators ordered private DUs to refund unused technical expert fees.
Joe Zaldarriaga, vice president and head of corporate communications of Meralco, stated that this timely approval would be beneficial to the DU’s service areas, stating that it would “provide relief to our customers especially as we approach the summer months when rates historically increase due to high demand for electricity.”
“Another application will be filed after Meralco has incurred, completed, and determined the AWAT for the remaining period from January to June 2025,” he added.