Following the imposition of P19-million fines against Manila Electric Company , the Energy Regulatory Commission is being pressed to take the same decisive step at slapping penalties against the other distribution utilities and electric cooperatives.
ERC Chairperson Agnes T. Devanadera earlier made pronouncements that the regulatory body will also scrutinize the violations of the other DUs and ECs, but she has not given a timeframe on when the Commission will rule on this. In fact in most of the regional areas, there are some power utilities raising complaints that the ERC has been turning a blind eye on the grievances of some consumers, especially since these are not often tackled in media reports.
The InfraWatch group further asserted “the ERC should resolve customer complaints on other DUs, to show that it is fairly implementing its mandate to ease the public’s burden during the pandemic.”