STAGGERED PAYMENT | Meralco consumers can now pay bills during lockdown in installments

April 17, 2020 , 08:30 PM

(April 17, 2020) – Meralco on Friday said it will implement a staggered payment scheme for power bills during the Luzon-wide lockdown.

This came after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered a four-month installment in payment of electricity bills incurred for the duration of the enhanced community quarantine.

The ERC said the scheme will take effect in the months after the quarantine is lifted, with the billing reflected as a separate item in customers’ electricity bill.

President Rodrigo Duterte had extended the quarantine in Luzon until May 1 as coronavirus infections in the country continue to increase.

“We are confident that under the ERC’s guidance, Meralco’s implementation of the grace period, deferment of electricity bill, and 4-month amortization of the bills falling within the ECQ will help ease and lessen the burden of our customers during these trying times,” said lawyer Jose Ronald Valles, Meralco’s first vice president and head regulatory management.

The electric company had earlier issued a 30-day grace period for its customers’ payment.

On Wednesday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles also announced that low-income customers of electric cooperatives will now be exempted from paying their electric consumption during the quarantine.

He said about three million Filipinos would benefit from the “Pantawid Liwanag” program that would aid families who consume less than 50 kilowatts per hour (kWh) a month.

Meralco, on the other hand, said they have long been helping their lifeline customers.

“The subsidy ranges from 20 to 100 percent depending on the consumption,” said Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga.

Meralco currently extends full subsidy for those consuming 20 kWh a month, 50% for 21-50 kWh, 35% for 51-70 kWh, and 20% for 71-100 kWh customers.

Nograles also sought to reassure millions of residents in Luzon that power supply during the quarantine remains sufficient, amid the hot and dry months of April and May. (Christian de Lano Deiparine/JBS)

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