MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) on Monday rebuffed what it called misleading claims regarding power bills, saying that costs charged customers are mandated by the government and that it does not earn from such “pass-through” charges.
"Meralco, just like other electricity distributors across the country, operates under strict regulatory oversight that ensures all charges are lawful, transparent, and properly vetted,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said in a briefing.
“Every line item in your electricity bill has been approved before they are reflected and implemented.”
The distribution utility has come under fire after power bills surged in the wake of the energy crisis, with complaints focused on why consumers were being made to shoulder subsidies for senior citizens and marginalized households and charges that support renewable energy developments, among others.
"These mandated charges are remitted to the government through the relevant agencies,” Zaldarriaga said.
“To reiterate, these are not new charges and they are not exclusive to Meralco, as these are implemented by all distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in the country,” he added.
The utility raised power rates in March by P0.64 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and implemented a P0.53/kWh increase this month, citing higher generation and transmission charges. With fuel costs already soaring, social media has been flooded with complaints that Meralco was profiting unfairly from “extra charges.”
Meralco for the past few days has been saying that the subsidies, generation and transmission rates, taxes are pass-through costs that do not end up as profits for distribution utilities.
“We act solely as collection agents for these costs,” Zaldarriaga reiterated on Monday. “These do not form part of our revenues in any way.”
“Again, we are highly regulated, with all charges in electricity bills subject to rigorous review and regulatory clearance prior to implementation.”
As for its own distribution charge, Meralco said that this had not moved since a reduction in 2022.
The company said it would continue to actively provide clear, factual and timely information to help customers better understand their electricity bills.
“We will not cease our efforts to empower consumers with the right information,” Zaldarriaga said.
“We put prime importance to transparency and accountability, and I would like to assure our customers that they can reach out to us any time through our various customer touch points.