MERALCO has introduced another fixed charge component in the May 2009 electric bill. What used to be Retail Customer Charge amounting to 5 pesos per month has now been split into a Fixed Metering Charge of 5.30 pesos per month, and a Fixed Supply Charge of 15.70 pesos per month, for a total of 21 pesos, 4 times larger than the Retail Customer Charge amount in the past months.

Other fixed charges that may be present in your MERALCO bill include the First Energy Tax that has been split into ENERGY TAX: First (35 pesos) and ENERGY TAX: Next (20.80 pesos). These combined with the 21 peso charge amount to 76.80 pesos.

“The more levers there are to tweak, the harder it will be for consumers to track changes to the electric bill. If ambiguity exists, it will be easier to introduce incremental overcharges.”