Meralco owes P150B in refunds: Ex-ERC commissioner

A FORMER commissioner of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) should refund its customers a total of P150 billion after regulators re-compute its weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

Alfredo Non, former ERC commissioner, said his computation showed that Meralco customers were each entitled to these refunds:

—P2,700 per month for those consuming 200 kwh monthly;

—P9,500 per month for those consuming 300 kwh monthly;

—P15,500 per month for those consuming 400 kwh monthly;

—P51,000 per month for those consuming 1,000 kwh or more monthly.

“So P150 billion should be returned to us. I have already submitted my proposed computation to ERC,” Non said.

He said his computation also included new rates that Meralco should charge its customers after the refund is completed.

“Now, after the refund is paid, the monthly bill will change,” said Non.

He said these adjustments should be implemented:

—Rate reduction of P22 per month for those consuming 200 kwh monthly;

—Rate reduction of P79 per month for those consuming 300 kwh monthly;

—Rate reduction of P129 per month for those consuming 400 kwh monthly;

—Rate reduction of P428 per month for those consuming 1,000 kwh or more monthly.

The refund, according to Non, is due because Meralco is charging P1.47 per kwh although the provisional authority rate was just P1.38 per kwh.

“Since 2012, there have been no complete rates,” said Non. “The rates should be reset every four years so that means Meralco does not have a final rate.”

He said the basis of Meralco for its rate is the provisional P1.38 per kwh which is “only temporary” but is not being followed.

“From 2012 until now, Meralco’s average billing rate to us is P1.47 per kwh. So, there is already an overbilling of P0.09 per kwh,” said Non.

WACC is one of the “building blocks” for computing power costs under the government’s rate-setting methodology called the Performance-Based Regulation (PBR).

Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez earlier said the unadjusted WACC is the key reason for consistently high power rates.

He said the current WACC of Meralco was computed to allow the utility to cope with the Asian financial crisis then but this