Meralco tells DOE: Delivery of ‘personalized letters’ explaining bills on target

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has updated the Department of Energy (DOE) regarding its compliance to its commitments and the status on how it is addressing customer complaints.

In a statement on Thursday, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Meralco president and CEO Ray Espinosa informed him in a letter dated July 14 that the power distributor is "on target to deliver the 4.1 million personalized letters to customers explaining their May 2020 bills (based on actual meter reading) made even more laymanized than what we issued for the June bills". 

The delivery of said letters commenced on July 10.

Meralco earlier said it would come up with "personalized" explanation letters to clarify the billing statements during the community quarantine periods after many customers complained of confusion, if not exorbitant bills.

"When I met with Meralco last May, I advised them to re-issue electricity bills based on actual meter readings and disregard previous bills that were made on estimated consumption. We met again in June to discuss their implementation plan, and at that time, I underscored the importance of properly and clearly communicating with their consumers,” Cusi said.

“Meralco informed us then that they will be issuing advisories explaining the May and June billings through letters, social media posts, and print media notices," he said.

The Energy chief said Meralco will also deploy “virtual agents” in select Bayad Center outlets within its franchise area so that the affected customers can talk to a Meralco employee via computer set up with regards to their billing concerns.

Additional manpower was also deployed to handle complaints in various digital channels such as emails, Facebook, and Twitter.

Meralco also informed the DOE that it shouldered the convenience fee charged by the payment gateway provider for payments made through the Meralco online app or website for payment transactions between March  15 to May 16, amounting to P12.6 million for approximately 268,000 transactions.

Espinosa also assured that no convenience fees will be charged for Meralco online payments until the end of the general community quarantine.

Cusi noted that the DOE continues to receive a high volume of consumer complaints regarding their May/June Meralco bills.

Thus, the Energy chief considers the update a welcome development.

"We welcome Meralco's assurance that they have been acting upon the various issues being raised by consumers. In this time of pandemic, our people are plagued with concerns about their health and safety, as well as their job and financial security. The government and private sector should work hand-in-hand to alleviate, and not add to their burdens," Cusi said.—AOL, GMA News