Meralco: No disconnection during quarantine

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has assured the public that it will put on hold its disconnection operations while the country continues to grapple with the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said consumers can set aside the electric bills that they received earlier this month as it did not reflect their actual electric consumption from the previous months.

“Yung estimated billings pwedeng itabi muna ‘yan; ‘wag munang pagtuunan ng pansin dahil ang importante po ay makuha ng ating mga kababayan ang kanilang actual na konsumo at ‘yan naman ay paparating na (You can put aside the estimated billings for now; the important thing is that consumers should get the actual consumption readings and that is coming),” Zaldarriaga said.

Zaldarriaga asked the public to wait for further guidelines from Meralco on electric billing as they are set to discuss the matter with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Department of Energy (DOE).

He said options on how consumers can pay their electric bills after the community quarantine will be discussed in that meeting. 

Zaldarriaga also said they are now studying the installment process of payment for electric bills for the period of March and April when Metro Manila was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Consumers who have questions about their electric bills may reach Meralco through its hotline number and official social media accounts.

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) placed Metro Manila under ECQ from March to April. This was shifted to modified ECQ (MECQ) this month.