Meralco says all bill charges are regulator-approved

ELECTRICITY CHARGES collected from consumers for social programs are mandated by the government, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said on Monday, as it addressed claims circulating on social media about additional bill 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 Vice-President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said in a statement.

He said every line item in consumers’ power bills has been approved by the regulator before being reflected and implemented.

The statement followed claims on social media regarding additional charges in electricity bills collected by Meralco.

These charges include subsidies such as the lifeline rate discount, senior citizen discount, feed-in tariff allowance and green energy auction allowance.

“These mandated charges are remitted to the government through the relevant agencies. 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,” Mr. Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco said that, like other pass-through charges such as generation and transmission costs and taxes, distribution utilities do not earn from these charges.

“We act solely as collection agents for these costs. These do not form part of our revenues in any way,” Mr. Zaldarriaga said. “Again, we are highly regulated, with all charges in electricity bills subject to rigorous review and regulatory clearance prior to implementation.”

The company added that its distribution charge has remained unchanged since it was reduced in 2022.

Meralco’s controlling shareholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera