DOE pushing for modified electricity bill format

By Myrna M. Velasco – May 27, 2018, 10:00 PM
from Manila Bulletin

The Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing for further itemization of cost components in electric bills – primarily those touching on bill deposits and interest charges; as well as the tax rates integrated in the monthly bills dispatched to consumers.

In a draft Department Circular issued by the department for public consultation, it indicated that it wants to further unbundle the power rates so consumers can be properly apprised where their electricity service payments go across the service chain of the industry.

One particular item that DOE wants reflected shall be the charges “collected by the distribution utilities from all electricity end-users, including but not limited to generation, transmission, distribution, supply and metering charges.”

At the same time, the DUs are directed to further unbundle costs relating to “bill and meter deposits, including interest thereon and any other charges that the ERC may approve to be collected from the electricity end-users.”

For each cost component, the DOE is likewise mandating all service front-lining DUs to “reflect corresponding percentage share of each component on the total amount billed to the electricity end-users.”

The overall intent of the policy, according to the department, will be to render the electric bills “simple and easy to understand” for all Filipino power consumers.

On the bill deposit mandate, the DOE said it wants the interest charges as well as corresponding adjustments itemized in the billing.