Rhelyn Harder
- Myren discovered an anomaly in reading their electric meter
- The MERALCO meter reader only estimated a netizen’s electric bill due to unclear meter case
- She shared awareness so netizens will be vigilant to monitor their electric bill
A netizen named Myren De Chavez Fajardo shared her experience on Facebook to give awareness to all people who are paying their electric bills.
Myren had discovered this anomaly when they changed residences last April. She knew that their average monthly billing was 3,500 pesos because of the aircon that they are using every night and a refrigerator.
As to their past billing at their old house, they usually pay an amount of 2,800 pesos with the usage of their aircon but no refrigerator.
For billing period of June to July, their electric bill reached 3,470.99 pesos which she immediately paid for thinking that might have used the other appliances too much. But for the months of July to August, they did not use the aircon for two weeks due to the cool rainy season. She expected that their electric bill would smaller but she was shocked to see it at 3,263.81 pesos.
Myren was puzzled by the bill, noting that the amount should have gone down since they used less electricity. She even had an electrician check their meter to make sure there wasn’t a problem.
The electrician advised her to call MERALCO because sometimes, instead of checking on the meter, the reader would only estimate based on the last month billing.
So, she called the MERALCO and confirmed that the reader only estimated their billing because of their electric meter is not clear and it’s hard for them to read it. She was advised not to pay the bill because MERALCO will re-calibrate their electric meter.
MERALCO apologized for what had happened and said that this was the only time that they estimated.
Her experience should remind consumers to be vigilant about their bills and what they are paying for.
