ERC: No cutting of power supply for unpaid customers until yearend

Regulators will be asking power distributors to hold off cutting the supply of unpaid customers until the end of the year.

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Agnes Devanadera said in a Senate hearing Tuesday that the commission is drafting an advisory to power firms to extend their disconnection moratoriums until December 31.

The Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), said that it is ready to follow such an order from the ERC. The country’s largest power distributor has extended its grace period for regular customers to settle unpaid dues stemming from the lockdowns last summer to October 31 from September 30.

Last week, MERALCO said that it will be issuing disconnection notices to customers with unsettled dues after October 31, though it also said that cutting power supply isn’t its priority given the situation of many consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Devanadera had earlier said that the grace period under Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act covers electric bills issued from September 15 to October 31.