MORE Power lets Iloilo consumers pay bill deposit in installments

 By Francis Allan L. Angelo

ILOILO CITY — MORE Electric and Power Corporation is allowing residential customers who cannot immediately settle their bill deposit adjustment to pay the amount in three staggered installments, utility officials said.

Anna Tandog, MORE Power revenue management head, said customers who are unable to pay the bill deposit increase reflected in this month’s billing may apply for a promissory note.

“They can go to our customer service office to apply for a promissory note,” Tandog said.

She cited a customer facing a PHP 9,000 adjustment, who may pay PHP 3,000 in the current month, PHP 3,000 the following month, and another PHP 3,000 the month after.

Beth Cabunagan, MORE Power legal officer, said the adjustment stems from the amended Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

The rule allows distribution utilities to adjust the bill deposit that consumers paid when they first applied for electric service.

Under the rule, a distribution utility may collect an additional bill deposit if a consumer’s average consumption over 12 months exceeds the actual bill deposit paid by more than 10%.

Conversely, if consumption over the same period falls below the bill deposit paid, the utility must return the excess by crediting it to future electricity bills.

MORE Power has held the Iloilo City electricity distribution franchise under Republic Act 11212, signed in February 2019, and took over distribution operations in the city in 2020 from Panay Electric Company.

Cabunagan illustrated the upward adjustment using a consumer who paid PHP 5,000 as bill deposit upon application and whose monthly consumption later averaged between PHP 9,000 and PHP 10,000.

The shortfall in that case runs to roughly PHP 4,000 to PHP 5,000.

For the downward adjustment, she cited a consumer who paid PHP 5,000 but consumed only about PHP 3,000 monthly.

In that case, PHP 2,000 is returned as a credit to the electric bill after 12 months.

The adjustment is made annually on the anniversary date of the consumer’s application for electric service.

Cabunagan said added appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and television sets raise consumption and move the 12-month average that determines the adjustment.

Tandog said the adjustment takes two forms: a bill deposit increase and a bill deposit decrease.

The decrease is issued through a credit memo applied against the customer’s actual unpaid bill.

Cabunagan said the bill deposit serves as a guarantee that electric bills are paid on time and may be applied by the utility to a consumer’s bill if payment is missed.

She stressed that the deposit is not the money of the distribution utility but of the consumer, and that it is eventually returned.

A consumer who terminates a service contract with MORE Power receives the full amount back.

A consumer who pays on time for 24 consecutive months qualifies for a bill deposit refund.

“And once good payer ikaw for 24 consecutive months, then ibalik-in na sa atong distribution utility sa atong mga consumers paagi sa bill deposit refund,” Cabunagan said.

The amended Magna Carta covers only residential consumers, she said, and commercial establishments are excluded from both the adjustment and the refund.

Distribution utilities must notify consumers before applying an increase, and the notice appears at the upper portion of the statement of account.

No notification is required for a decrease, which is deducted or offset outright from the electric bill.

Tandog said the utility issued a notification the previous month for this month’s adjustments, indicating the specific amount.

She cited a PHP 5,000 charge flagged on a June bill that then appears as a bill deposit adjustment in the lower portion of the July bill.

Cabunagan urged consumers to read their bills in full, including the generation charge, the distribution and metering charge, and other taxes.

She also advised them to check previous bills for any embedded notice of a bill deposit increase.

Tandog said no consumer will be disconnected over the adjustment at present, citing an ERC advisory covering bills for May, June, and July that bars disconnection for nonpayment.

“And just recently, we received the advisory from ERC na it was extended to August, September, and October,” she said.

“All charges pertaining to this month will not qualify for disconnection,” Tandog added.

She said disconnection for unpaid amounts will resume once the exemption period granted by the ERC lapses.

Tandog advised consumers to pay on time rather than allow arrears to accumulate.

MORE Power also posted information on the bill deposit adjustment on its Facebook page, in line with the ERC advisory directing distribution utilities to implement the measure.