MORE Power returns more bill deposits to Iloilo customers

MANILA  -Enrique Razon Jr.-led Iloilo power distributor MORE Electric and Power Corp. has returned more than P500,000 in bill deposits to its customers in three months in compliance with a mandate by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

In a statement on Friday, MORE Power said it had distributed the P539,000 refund to 175 eligible customers in the province since the program started in June.

“Since we have no intention of using or retaining these funds for our operations, it’s only fair to promptly return them to our customers,” said Roel Castro, MORE Power president and chief executive officer.

A bill deposit is a payment made by a consumer at the time they applied for their own electricity service. It is equivalent to the estimated billing for one month and is charged to consumers to ensure payment of bills.

Under the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers, the ERC mandates all distribution utilities to refund the bill deposit to consumers after three years of on-time payments with no record of disconnections.

The commission also noted that distribution utilities did not need to wait for formal applications from customers before refunding the bill deposits.

For its part, MORE Power said it was reaching out to other eligible customers who had yet to receive their refunds through letters attached to their electricity bills.

The company aims to return a total of P3.3 million to 777 customers by year-end. In June, MORE Power began distributing around P2,500 in bill deposit refunds to its customers.