Meralco’s Customer Bill Deposit unfair and unjust

We find the recent increase in the Meralco “Customer Bill Deposit” atrocious because Meralco did not inform the state regulator, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), about it. Had it been informed, the ERC was duty-bound to first conduct a public consultation in order to afford consumers “due process” where the basic question, “Why the increase?” could have been answered. This is a requirement of the law.

The Customer Bill Deposit, which is equivalent to the estimated billing for one month, serves as a customer-guarantee automatic payment to Meralco, in case he or she fails or is unable to pay his/her bill for the month. But this deposit, which Meralco keeps to itself, earns an annual 10-percent interest that makes the deposit itself grow yearly.

Thus, the increase was very arbitrary and prejudicial to Meralco  customers and was patently unjust and unfair.

Apparently, Meralco did not want a public consultation because it was wary about bringing to light the fact that it is using the Customer Bill Deposit as a source of capital for its operation; and that the ERC granted Meralco a return on rate base (capital invested plus appraisal) or an annual interest of more than 15 percent under the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC). Yet, our Customer Bill Deposit was only given a 10-percent annual interest rate. Is this fair, just and reasonable?

What is even more disturbing is the report that this 10-percent interest was again arbitrarily reduced  to one-fourth of 1 percent.

Considering that Meralco’s current rates are already oppressive and that they are raking in exponential profits, and that Meralco failed to formally inform the ERC about this imposition, we believe the ERC must immediately direct Meralco to cease and desist from imposing this increase and to account for and notify each and every Meralco customer on the history and current account of his/her bill deposit.

Further, the ERC should direct Meralco to implement a full refund of the bill deposit to those who qualify for such refund under the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers.

—PETE L. ILAGAN, president,

National Association of Electricity

Consumers for Reforms Inc.,

nasecore2003@yahoo.com;