Solon: Allow staggered payment of electricity bill

By Lenie Lectura -April 15, 2020
from Business Mirror

A lawmaker on Wednesday pushed for staggered payments of electricity bills and for the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to waive its convenience fee of P47.

Senate Energy Committee Chairman Sherwin Gatchalian wants the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to look for solutions that will ease payment terms for consumers. He suggested to stagger the two months of electricity bills for not less than three months.

Utility firms, including Meralco, earlier extended the payment deadlines amid the implementation the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Gatchalian said government should to come up with a solution to ease the burden of Filipino households, whose electricity bills are expected to pile up after a month of reprieve.

He said Filipinos, especially those belonging to the marginalized sector, might not have the financial capacity to pay two months’ worth of electricity bills in full and therefore risk having their electricity disconnected.

“Because many of our kababayans are not able to work at this time, especially the ‘no work, no pay’ employees, our appeal is for the ERC to find ways to ensure that their electricity will not be cut off,” Gatchalian said in Filipino.

Gatchalian also appealed to Meralco to temporarily waive its convenience fee so that consumers may be able to pay their electricity bill using the company’s mobile app without extra charges.

Meralco consumers are required to pay an additional P47 convenience fee, on top of their monthly electricity bill, when paying via the mobile app.

“For humanitarian reasons, let’s think of ways that will make the lives of our kababayans better and alleviate their suffering as we face this pandemic,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Electrification Administration said there are over 90 electric cooperatives in the country implementing the 30-day grace period for consumers to settle their electricity bills.