The Power for People Coalition (P4P) on Friday called on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to increase the amount Meralco should return to its customers to truly capture what the company overcollected on distribution charges and to accelerate the refund process.

The ERC ordered Meralco to refund P19.9 billion for excess billing covering the period from July 2022 to December 2024, to be paid over 36 months.

“The Php 20 billion refund is a ‘token’ amount if we consider that computations estimate it to be in the 12-digit range. Senator Risa Hontiveros herself said in January that Meralco should return more than Php 100 billion,” said Gerry Arances, P4P Convenor.

The energy consumer advocate also called for a faster refund process, proportional to the speed at which consumers were overbilled.

“The refund should not take over three years – we were charged immediately, we should have our money back immediately. This should not be a problem when Meralco’s core profit is at an all-time high last year, with Php 28.1 billion alone coming from its distribution business,” said Arances.

“The ERC decision, while seemingly pro-consumer, is actually too conscious of the convenience of Meralco. Meralco can overcharge consumers now, then pay it back at a lower amount in installments. Normalizing this system effectively gives Meralco the authority to gouge consumers at will without accountability,” he added.

Arances once more called on consumers to ask their reelectionist candidates on their stance on the Meralco franchise renewal to hold them accountable for the current system that favors Meralco.

“Voters should ask their candidates, especially those running again for Congress, where they stood on the Meralco franchise renewal. The rushed renewal of the franchise prevented the government from wielding the threat of franchise revocation to force Meralco to adopt more consumer-friendly billing practices. In effect, those who voted to renew the franchise coddled Meralco and allowed the company to extort more money from the voters that they are now wooing. Let us show such actions have consequences at the ballot box, at this time when politicians are actually forced to listen to their constituents,” said Arances.