The City Council has approved a resolution requesting the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) to determine the amount of customers’ electric bills starting February, basing it on actual meter readings.
City Councilor Elgin Damasco, Energy Committee Chair and author of the resolution, told the media Monday he sees this proposal fair and fitting for the consumer public, instead of charging them using an average consumption.
“Naaprubahan po kanina ‘yon pong resolusyon na humihiling sa ERC at PALECO na ibalik sa actual reading at mag-bigay sila ng panibagong billing sa ating mga kababayan dahil napaka-unfair po ‘yong mga ginagawa nila,” said Damasco.
“Ating panawagan sa ERC at PALECO ay ipatupad ‘yong actual reading, ‘yon ang pinakapatas,” he added.
Damasco said this will allow all citizens from different walks of life to be charged according to what they only consumed.
The City Council on Tuesday invited representatives from PALECO, business sector, private individuals, and other stakeholders, giving them the chance to explain their sides.
Damasco said they invited representatives from PALECO after his office received lots of complaints from the upset public who were surprised by the bill they received, claiming they were overbilled.
Damasco also proposed another resolution proposing that the City Government file a case against PALECO if it does not take proper action on the matter. However, the plenary decided to just refer first this next proposal to the Committee on Legal Matters.
“Iyong pangalawa nga po na na-refer muna sa Committee on Legal Matters ay kapag wala talagang ginawa ang PALECO ay kasuhan na ng City Government, ipa-TRO na natin sila, iyon ang gusto kong mangyari,” he said.
Earlier, during the question hour, PALECO Officer in Charge (OIC) Ma. Loilita Decano answering Damasco’s question said they can no longer grant the request for they have already accomplished averaging.
“Gusto po naming ipaalam sa inyo, hindi na po naming puwedeng ibalik kasi po nakapag-average na kami, sinunod po namin ‘yong ERC ruling na pinalabas nila noong una,” said Decano.
Decano reiterated they only based on the ERC guidelines, which was released May 5.
Based on the ERC official website, under the advisory dated May 5, the estimated billing is in pursuant to Section 3.5.4 of the Distribution Services and Open Access Rules (DSOAR), which is in line to physical distancing directive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ERC noted in the guidelines that to ensure the health safety of meter readers, they have not been exempted by the government from complying with this physical distancing directive.
ERC therefore reiterated under this May 5 advisory that the “bill estimate should be based on the average of the consumers’ billing of three months immediately preceding the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)”.
Dennis Solpicio, PALECO Billing Section Head also stated during the question hour that while they based only upon the ERC advisory, the consumer public is welcome at their office for some bill adjustments.
“Since ang meter reader po ay hindi po siya exempted sa ECQ, kaya nag-order ang ERC at pinalabas ng gobyerno na ang magiging billing po namin is through average billing,” said Solpicio.
The Provincial Board also called on representatives of PALECO during its regular session Tuesday.
Provincial Board Member Ryan Maminta stated there is inconsistency with PALECO’s billing statement.
“Dapat makita ng mga consumers na nakinabang sila sa ERC guidelines at talagang nabawasan ang bill nila. Kailangan din ng transparency para malaman kung natulungan ba talaga ng PALECO ang mga consumers habang may pandemya tayo. Hindi rin malinaw kung totoong napatupad ang advisory ng ERC,” said Maminta.
On the other hand, PALECO Area Manager Cesar Miraflores admitted that the cooperative had its “shortcomings” as well.
Miraflores assured the Provincial Board that bills starting this month of May are based upon actual meter reading.
“Itong bill ngayong May, nag-conduct kami ng actual [reading], makipag-usap nalang sa respective office ng PALECO kung may concerns sa bill, what is important ay hindi namin ginusto na sumobra ang computation,” said Miraflores.
(with reports from Chris Barrientos)
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