SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines –The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said it will ask regulators for approval for emergency capital expenditure (capex) to be able to sustain its prepaid retail electric service (PRES), should it encounter additional demand for the service.
Meralco was authorized to deploy 40,000 meters this year for the PRES. It also has pending application with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for 100,000 more for next year’s deployment, although it has yet to be approved.
Meralco needs to file for approval of meter purchase and installation before it can roll out the service across its franchise area.
“We have 40,000 meters, and we have about 5,500 customers,” said Meralco First Vice President and Regulatory Management Head, Ivanna dela Peña.
If the number of prepaid meters is not enough to accommodate the number of Meralco customers who want to shift to prepaid electricity, “we will have to file for emergency capex to be able to purchase the meters,” said Dela Peña.
She added that the emergency capex will depend on requirements, and the take-up of the prepaid service.
“We will have to go back to the ERC for additional meters, if necessary,” she said.
The utility will make available 40,000 prepaid electricity meters to interested customers under its Kuryente-Load Program. Meralco has 5.63 million customers as of end-March.
The service will be initially available in some parts of Manila, Cainta, Quezon City, San Juan, Caloocan, Pasig and Cavite.
According to Meralco, it has received at least 20,000 applications with residential customers as well as the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) interested in enrolling in Meralco’s PRES.
Earlier, Meralco said it allotted a budget of $7 million ($311.8 million) for the entire system, with one prepaid meter costing around P5,000 ($112).
The prepaid service offering will enable customers to budget their electricity consumption. The system also informs consumers if they need to reload immediately to avoid disconnection.
If existing Meralco subscribers want to shift to prepaid electricity, no meter charge will be collected from them. – Rappler.com
$1 = P44.55
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