Consumers of less than 50 kWh will not be charged for two months

Meralco bills

Consumers with less than 50 kilowatt per hour (kWh) consumed electricity will not be charged for the month of March and April period under the Pantawid Liwanag program of electric cooperatives.

This according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles during an online news briefing.

However, he noted that those already covered by the one-month grace period imposed by the government due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will not be covered.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA), Philippine Rural Electric Cooperative (Philreca, and other electric cooperatives launched the program as part of its contribution for government efforts to address the effects of COVID-19, Nograles said.

“Thank you NEA, Philreca and the other electric co-ops for your help and contribution,” Nograles said.

Meanwhile, the  Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) said there will be sufficient supply of water and energy in Metro Manila for the whole duration of enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.

Nograles added that Luzon has an available capacity of 11,795 MW, with a peak demand of 7,323 MW in Luzon.

“This means we currently have an excess capacity of 4,742 MW. We still have excess supply of electricity in Luzon,” Nograles said.