ERC collates feedback on bill-deposit draft rules

By Lenie Lectura – October 11, 2017

from Business Mirror

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is soliciting comments on the newly released draft rules governing the monitoring and reporting process of bill deposits.

A bill deposit, equivalent to the estimated billing for one month, is collected from customers of distribution utilities (DUs). It is intended to guarantee the payment of electricity bills for new and/or additional service and from disconnected consumers who were previously not subject to bill deposit.

After a year and every year thereafter, whenever the actual average monthly bills are more or less 10 percent of the initial bill deposit, such deposit shall be increased or decreased to approximate said billing.

The bill deposit could be refunded to the consumers within one month from the termination of service provided all bills have been paid.

A customer who has paid his electric bills on or before due date for three consecutive years may demand for the full refund of the deposit even prior to the termination of his service. An application must be filed with the concerned DU, which must refund the deposit within one month from receipt of such application.

The bill deposit earns interest.

The five-page draft circular states “the interests on bill deposit shall be credited yearly to the bills of the customers. Thus, within six months from date of effectivity of these rules, all DUs shall issue a statement of account to their consumers showing the total amount of bill deposit and the accrued interest.”

The ERC is also requiring the DUs to “reflect the bill deposit and the corresponding interests as a separate line item on the electricity bills using the phrase “bill deposit”.

If the DU fails to credit the interest to the electric bill, the accrued interest shall be added to the principal amount of the bill deposit and the same shall earn interest, compounded on the basis of the prevailing interest rate for savings account of the Land Bank of the Philippines on the first working day of the year.

Once these rules become effective, the DU shall inform its consumers within its franchise area of the issuance of these rules.

The DU should also maintain and develop in its web site a consumer information disclosing all terms and conditions on bill deposits. It must also submit to the ERC a periodic report on or before December 31 of every year regarding details of the total amount of bill deposit collected, including interest earned and the amount credited or refunded to its customers.

Earlier, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said he would asked the ERC to require all DUs and electric cooperatives (ECs) to regularly inform customers of their bill deposit, whether payables or refunds.

“These must be reflected in the monthly electricity bill of their customers,” said Cusi, as he cited that there are cases wherein the DU would ask the customer to show proof of the deposit made. “The burden of proof is not with the customer. To avoid this, the electricity bill of a customer should show the amount of deposit he or she made so that when they opt for a refund, the proof is already there,” the energy chief said.

Cusi also pointed out that this is meant to raise awareness among consumers of their right to be informed.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), for its part, said it fully supports Cusi’s call for transparency in the electricity bill.

“We continue to comply with ERC rules on the updating of customers deposit. Currently, as far as the meter deposits are concerned, these have been returned to active customers and we are in the process of  returning the meter deposit of remaining terminated accounts.”

“As far as bill deposits are concerned, there are currently ERC rules on the annual updating of bill deposit, inclusive of interest earned, which is reflected annually in all customers’ bills,” said Meralco head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez in a text message.