SENATE, Pasay City — Citing the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)'s apparent failure to properly handle the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) rate reset process, Senator Majority Leader Francis Tolentino chided the Commission for its glaring inefficiency in managing the power rate resets.

According to Tolentino, the ERC has been mishandling the situation as it has not takenvaction on Meralco's case for nearly a decade with the agenct granting Meralco's request to withdraw its rate reset application last October 30, after its last rate reset lapsed in 2015.

"It's troubling that the ERC, under past and present leaderships, has failed to tackle this issue. Why has it taken so long for them to act on the long overdue rate reset process? It should have taken action before July 2022 but allowed the issue to drag on. In short, they were caught napping," the administration senator pointed out.

In addition, Tolentino asserted that while the ERC was crucial in upholding consumer welfare, it failed to provide a proper and timely rate review due to a lack of rules for setting the distribution wheeling rates.
"As a government agency, the ERC must be vigilant and proactive in safeguarding public interests. They cannot afford to be complacent while consumers are exposed to its inefficiencies and exploitation from the power sector," he stressed.

In ending, the Senate Majority Leader called for the ERC to take immediate action to ensure accountability and transparency in its operations.

"Our fellow Filipinos worked hard to earn each peso to make ends meet. The least the ERC can do is to do its job. The ERC should ensure timely and transparent processes for refunding Meralco customers," he concluded.

The ERC recently ordered Meralco to refund some ₱987.16 million to its customers for improperly charged fees related to regulatory rate resets. Some 16 other distribution utilities are expected to return a total of ₱189.98 million to consumers, bringing the total refund amount to around ₱1.1777 billion. The fees were collected despite no actual regulatory reset, with costs covered by the government's budget.