Meralco
IKINATUWA ng Bayan Muna ang utos ng Energy Regulatory Commission sa Manila Electric Company na ibatay sa kuntador ang sisingilin nito sa mga kustomer.
“Many of us suffered electric bill shock when we received our electric bills recently. The order of ERC requiring Meralco to conduct actual meter reading before issuing electric bills is certainly welcome. This practically orders Meralco to withdraw their shockingly high bills that led to public protests,” ani Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares.
Sinabi ni Colmenares kung mayroon ng mga nagbayad ng sobra, dapat itong ibalik ng Meralco.
“Should Meralco be found to have committed market power abuse or overcharging we ask that ERC should impose fines or price control on Meralco under Section 1 [f] of the ERC “Guidelines to Govern Imposition of Administrative Sanctions” pursuant to Section 46 of EPIRA. Whatever fines imposed must be paid by Meralco back to its customers for the damage it has caused on consumers,” ani Colmenares.
Sinabi naman ni Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate na may ganitong problema dahil monopolyado ng Meralco ang suplay ng 6.9 milyong kustomer sa Metro Manila at mga karatig lugar.
“Meralco has incurred the public ire on many occasions such as its bill shock in 2013 during the Malampaya shutdown, its collection of billions in Bill Deposit payments from consumers and now this latest “electric bill shock” fiasco, but we are forced to continue having Meralco as our service provider,” dagdag pa ni Zarate.
Umaasa si Zarate na maglalabas na ng desisyon ng Korte Suprema kaugnay ng petisyon ng Bayan Muna upang magkaroon ng kompetisyon ang Meralco.
“We hope, too, for the Supreme Court to already rule on our petition for the implementation of the Retail Competition Open Access or RCOA, which at least allows competition and gives the people the opportunity to choose their distribution utility instead of being tied up with Meralco forever,” ani Zarate.