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[av_heading heading=’ PECO seeks to nullify meter reading edict ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO City – Panay Electric Company (PECO) has asked the Regional Trial Court to declare as null and void Regulation Ordinance No. 2017-095 or the Meter Reading Card System Ordinance.
The ordinance, passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) just this June, aims to regularly update consumers of their electricity consumption.
Under this system, PECO must display in each consumer’s house or establishment a card on which the monthly consumption would be indicated every meter reading period.
“We are asking the court to determine in its power whether or not the ordinance is valid,” said PECO’s legal counsel Aida Rose Villanueva.
The city’s sole power distributor believed the SP has no jurisdiction or power to enact such ordinance that it considered tantamount to imposing regulation on a distribution utility.
According to PECO, power distribution utilities are under the regulatory supervision of the Energy Regulation Commission as provided for in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
PECO also argued that the content or framing of the ordinance is invalid because it is vague.
It is not exactly clear what the prohibited acts are, said Villanueva.
In espousing the ordinance, Councilor Joshua Alim said it would “hopefully avoid confusion and billing questions.”
The SP was recently flooded with complaints from consumers claiming PECO was overcharging them. With the card reading system, people could easily monitor their monthly electricity consumption and make comparisons, said Alim.
If there are discrepancies in the meter reading, consumers can easily call PECO’s attention even before the bills arrive, he added.
The ordinance prohibits the tampering of the meter reading card. The culprit faces a P3,000 fine and/or one month to three months of imprisonment.
Section 6 of the ordinance also requires PECO to comply with Article 11 of the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers: the electric meter should be not more than three meters high or less than 1.52 high from the ground./PN
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