The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has announced the reinstatement of the electricity bill deposit for consumers as a safeguard under Section 41 of Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).
A bill deposit is an amount collected from electricity consumers as security against unpaid electricity consumption after the payment due date.
In an advisory, the ERC said consumers must first receive a formal notice from their respective distribution utilities (DUs) before they can be charged the reinstated deposit. The notice must explain the basis for the reimposition, the computation of the amount, and the option to pay it over three consecutive months.
According to the ERC, the reinstated bill deposit may be paid in three equal monthly installments starting upon receipt of the notice, unless the consumer chooses to pay the full amount or the DU allows a longer payment period.
The commission also warned that failure to pay the reinstated bill deposit may serve as grounds for disconnection. However, the distribution utility must first issue a written notice before disconnecting the consumer’s electricity service.
For bills issued during previous periods, May to July, August to October, and November to December, the ERC clarified that no bill deposit will be reimposed on consumers who qualify under the “No Disconnection Policy” because they failed to pay their bills during those periods.
Meanwhile, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said it would comply with the ERC’s decision but clarified that the policy applies only to customers who had already received a refund of their bill deposit after paying their electricity bills on or before the due date for two consecutive years but subsequently missed or failed to pay their succeeding bills.
To give affected customers more time to prepare, Meralco Senior Vice President and head of Regulatory Management Atty. Jose Ronald Valles said the company would defer implementation of the policy until next year.
Meralco will also provide affected customers with an automatic six-month installment arrangement, extending the payment period beyond the three months stipulated under the ERC guidelines.
Despite the temporary deferment, Valles clarified that the company would continue automatically refunding bill deposits to customers with good credit standing. The bill deposit will also appear as a separate line item on electricity bills to make the charge clearer to consumers.
“Patuloy kaming nakatuon sa pagpapabatid sa aming mga kostumer. Maglalabas ang kumpanya ng mga kinakailangang impormasyon, abiso, at paalala, pati na ang pagsagot sa kanilang mga katanungan upang mas maunawaan nila ang polisiya at ang implementasyon nito,” Valles said.