Repairmen work on a tangle of electric and telecommunication cables in Muntinlupa City on July 8, 2023. ABS-CBN  

MANILA -- Meralco's move to stagger the generation rate hike for June billing cannot be mandated for all electric cooperatives in Luzon and Visayas, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said on Wednesday. 

ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said there was no basis to compel electric coops to defer or stagger the increase, since their suppliers would continue to demand payment for electricity. 

ERC approves Meralco petition for staggered payment in generation charge increase

A number of electric cooperatives, which are exposed to the wholesale electricity spot market, are forced to pass on to consumers the increase in the price of electricity due to the series of yellow and red alerts in the Luzon and Visayas grids in the past weeks.

Electricity bills may be higher in next due date: ERC

According to Dimalanta, cooperativess are non-profit, unlike Meralco and other utilities that earn returns for electricity provided to consumers. 

But one cooperative has requested ERC to allow it to stagger the increases.

RELATED STORY:

Last May, the Pampanga Electric Cooperative 1 (PELCO 1) implemented a staggered increase in generation charge after it rose by more than 60 centavos per kilowatt-hour.

This June, another spike is expected in the generation charge. This is why PELCO 1 General Manager Engr. Allan David says he will bring it up again to the board to allow for a staggered recovery of increases.

ERC REITERATES RULE ON PAYMENT

Dimalanta reiterated that under the magna carta, consumers can ask for easier payment terms if they are having difficulty in paying the bill.

Dimalanta explained that before any disconnection is done, a consumer can make a request to stagger payment, on a case to case basis, depending on the reason for not paying in full the amount due for a specific month.

Meralco Spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga agreed insisting that Meralco is not too strict in cases where consumers are really having difficulty paying the bill in full.

Zaldarriaga advises consumers who are facing difficulty with paying bills to approach the Meralco business manager in their area early on and not wait for the disconnection notice to be issued, in order to prevent inconvenience.