NO amount of PR fund would ever be enough to conceal what looks more like a conspiracy at its worst with no less than the government condoning the greed of oligarchs behind the Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
For one, Meralco has been dilly-dallying on the Energy Regulatory Commission order compelling Meralco to refund more than P14 billion (which was significantly trimmed down to just P9.51 billion) in over collections.
As if reducing the amount that should have been refunded to the consumers wasn’t enough, Meralco managed to reduce it further to just P798 million after the ERC allowed the utility giant to collect a staggering P8.71-billion in “under recoveries” from 2011 to 2022.
It doesn’t take one to be a rocket scientist to do simple math. Simply deduct P8.71 billion in “under recoveries” from P9.51 billion in “over collections.” The result — P798 million.
In a gesture of “compassion,” ERC asked Meralco to collect the P8.71 billion in “under recoveries” in 36 monthly installments.
So what exactly are the “under recoveries” that Meralco will be collecting from the hapless consumers for the next 36 months?
According to ERC’s decision, Meralco will collect almost P7.3 billion in generation cost. They would also exact from us almost P616 million in transmission cost, plus P545 million in systems losses, and a little less than P229 million in realty taxes.
Meralco has indeed gone from big to mammoth with its more eight million hapless consumers in 39 cities and 72 municipalities encompassing its 9,685-square kilometer business empire covering Metro Manila, provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, parts of Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon.
Meanwhile, consumer advocate groups are consolidating data and evidence for a class suit that they’re planning to file against ERC and Meralco.
