ERC extending till year-end no-disconnection policy
By Lenie Lectura – October 30, 2020
from Business Mirror
THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered distribution utilities (DUs) on Thursday to observe a no-disconnection policy until end-2020 for the nonpaying customers whose monthly consumption is less than 200 kilowatt hour (kWh).
“DUs are directed not to implement any disconnection on account of nonpayment of bills until December 31, 2020, for consumers with monthly consumption not higher than twice the ERC-approved maximum lifeline consumption level,” the commission said late Thursday.
The approved maximum lifeline level is 100kWh. Thus, those consuming 200kWh below will be entitled to the no-disconnection until end-December this year.
However, electricity customers who have the ability to pay are encouraged to settle their bills within the original due date to help manage the cash flow in the energy supply chain and ensure the continuous supply of electricity, the ERC said.
The DUs are urged to offer less onerous payment terms to encourage early payment.
For all other customers, DUs and Retail Electricity Suppliers (RES) are directed to implement a minimum of 30-day grace period on all payments falling due within the period of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) without incurring interests, penalties and other charges. Any unpaid balance after the lapse of the 30-day grace period shall be payable in three equal monthly installments without incurring interests, penalties, and other charges.
Government offices, government agencies, government-owned and -controlled corporations, and other government instrumentalities are not covered by the 30-day grace period and installment payment arrangement.
The DUs and RES must inform their customers of the latest ERC billing advisory through a bill insert.
In addition to the bill insert, DUs and RES shall inform their customers through any other available means but shall not be limited to: announcements through social media, radio station announcements, posting in bulletin boards of local government units, and/or posting in the DUs’/RES’ web site.
The power generators, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), National Power Corporation (NPC), National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Independent Power Producers (IPPs), Independent Power Producer Administrators (IPPAs) and the Market Operator (MO) shall extend the same 30-day grace period, staggered payment, and no-disconnection policy to the RES, DUs and other customers.
The DU must submit a power supply contract utilization report; record of payments received from customers; and record of payments made to suppliers, covering the grace period and installment periods as proof of their compliance to the ERC directive.
A consumer advocacy group hailed the announcement of ERC. However, the Power for People Coalition (P4P) is disappointed that the relief is extended only to those who consume less than 200kWh.
“The P4P extends its appreciation to the ERC for its advisory mandating no disconnections until the end of the year,” it said.
“Even if the advisory were extended to all victims of the Meralco bill shock, P4P stands firm that this relief is only temporary, until the ERC can resolve the underlying issues that allowed the bill shock to happen in the first place,” said the group.
P4P said it wants the ERC to impose a moratorium on payments for the bill shock period until all bills during the ECQ period “have been examined for fairness, a more flexible payment scheme applied for the bills, all pending refunds returned, reforms in Meralco billing practices carried out, and an independent audit of Meralco has been conducted.”
For Meralco’s part, the utility firm said it would abide by the ERC order. “As we have stated in our earlier pronouncement, we will follow the ERC directive.”
