The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has been ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to refund Php21.769 billion to customers.
It is said that the refund amount came from the overcollection accrued from Meralco’s tariff adjustments from July 2015 to June 2022, which meant a reduction of Php0.87 per kilowatt-hour for its presidential customers.
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The order, which has 68 pages and was dated last June 16, was received by the electric company on July 5, highlights that the refund shall be applied to the bills of Meralco customers for the month of July.
This refund was justified after the ERC reviewed the adjustments in rates implemented by Meralco in its last regulatory reset. The final computation revealed the refund amount, which was based on the electric firm’s over-recoveries from the last seven years.
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“We made adjustments on the regulatory asset base (RAB) and recomputed the interim average rate (IAR). We wanted to ensure that all over-recoveries shall be refunded complete with interest,” said Chairperson Agnes T. Devanadera of the ERC.
To distribute the Php21.8 billion refund to its customers, the ERC has ordered Meralco “to effect the refund in approximately 12 months or until the amount is fully refunded to its customers, and to reflect the refund rate as a separate line item in the bills of customers during the refund period.”
In a statement, Meralco VP Joe Zaldarriaga said that they will comply with the ERC order and are currently “studying the order” so they can start applying the refund to July’s bill.
“While we have yet to receive suppliers’ billings, there is a possibility that the refund can offset the expected increase in generation charge and lead to a reduction in the overall power rates for July,” Zaldarriaga added.
Via: Manila Bulletin
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