MANILA – Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday urged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to temporarily prohibit the disconnection of electricity service for Meralco customers with legitimate billing disputes while their complaints are under investigation.

In a statement, Hontiveros said consumers who question unusually high electricity bills, particularly those involving alleged erroneous meter readings, should not be forced to pay disputed charges to avoid losing electricity service.

“Consumers who were erroneously charged should not be forced to pay disputed charges just to keep their lights on. Hindi nila kasalanan na mali ang meter reading. Hindi konsyumers ang dapat mag-adjust (It is not their fault that the meter reading was wrong. Consumers should not be the ones forced to adjust),” she said.

Hontiveros made the proposal following complaints from households that received unusually high electricity bills, including a family that was billed for electricity consumption despite having switched off their circuit breakers while away on vacation.

Meralco later acknowledged that the billing resulted from a meter reader’s error.

Under the current system, consumers disputing their electricity bills are advised to settle the amount under protest to avoid service disconnection while their complaints are being resolved.

Hontiveros said the existing arrangement unfairly places the burden on consumers even before it is determined whether the utility made an error.

“Kung lehitimo ang dispute sa bill, hindi makatarungan na pilitin silang magbayad muna. Pwede pa sana nilang magamit ang pera sa iba pang pangangailangan sa buwan na iyan (If the billing dispute is legitimate, it is unfair to force consumers to pay first. They could have used that money for other household needs for that month),” she said.

She noted that while the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers guarantees the right to accurate metering and allows customers to challenge erroneous bills, it does not explicitly prohibit the collection of disputed charges or the disconnection of electricity service while complaints remain pending.

Hontiveros said the ERC should adopt a faster and fairer process for resolving billing disputes without putting consumers at risk of losing power.

She also said she would file a resolution seeking a Senate Committee on Energy inquiry into reported cases of erroneous meter readings, the effectiveness of existing consumer protection mechanisms, and possible legislative measures to prevent unjust billing practices.