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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Court orders Meralco to pay P500T to consumer
MANILA -- The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to pay damages to a local firm following a bloated electricity bill.
The overcharging, said reports, is due to a defective electric meter that the Lopez-owned power firm had installed.
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In a decision penned by Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, the CA 15th Division said Meralco is liable to pay petitioners lawyer P.M. Castillo and wife Guia, who are doing business under the trade name of Permanent Light Manufacturing Enterprises (PLME), an amount of P500,000 representing damages ensuing from the overcharged power rate from May 1994 to November 2001.
Permanent Light is a business establishment engaged in the manufacture and sale of fluorescent fixtures, office steel cabinets and metal fabrications since 1978.
The appellate court affirmed with modification the decision of the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) dated July 9, 2003, which directed Meralco to pay P1.38 million representing overpaid electric bills.
But the CA said it cannot abide by the computation made by Permanent Light in computing its overpayment based on its November 28 electric bill, as it is tantamount to speculation that it is the average monthly charge paid by the company.
The court pointed out that electric rates imposed and collected by Meralco also increased through the years.
The appellate court also said Meralco violated a revised order of the Public Service Commission that mandates a 48-hour notice be given to consumers prior to disconnection.
"Accordingly, whatever evidence pertaining to the alleged tampered meter is rendered dubious because of appellant's bad faith in capriciously disconnecting electric service to Permanent Light," the CA ruled.
The CA also castigated Meralco for not immediately looking into the complaint of the couple that their second meter was defective. It added that it is puzzled on why Meralco did not present any evidence to refute the claim that the second meter was malfunctioning.
"In our considered opinion, appellees convincingly established the dramatic increase in their electric bills with the installation of the second meter. We are simply confounded as to why appellant did not bother to present an iota of proof to refute the claim that this second meter was running at an unusually high speed," the CA said.
Records showed that on April 19, 1994, a group of roving linemen from Meralco conducted inspection on the company's meter, which was witnessed by Permanent Light employee identified as Mike Malikay.
Meralco later declared that the meter was tampered with and immediately disconnect electric supply to the company.
The Castillo couple were surprised by the result of the inspection but needed to restore electric supply to PLME, prompting them to pay P50,000 as initial down payment for reconnection.
A few months following reconnection of electric supply in March 1994, spouses Castillo claimed that their electric meter was moving at a high speed than the old meter.
Meralco, however, refused to heed their request for inspection until they reported that the glass cover of the new meter was broken, which left the power firm no other choice but to install another meter for Permanent Light.
Subsequently, the Castillos received another billing statement amounting to P192,009, which was supposedly computed after Meralco realized that payment from March 1994 to April 1994 was not yet made.
After re-evaluating its records, Meralco corrected its previous assessment and billed the couple with the amount of P38,693, explaining that the portions of the corrected billing overlapped with differential billing.
The Castillos refused to pay until Meralco could explain the staggering increase in their monthly bills. However, Meralco did not heed the couple's request and instead threatened them to disconnect their power supply if they fail to pay their bill.
This prompted the Castillos to seek court relief by filing a complaint for preliminary injunction, recovery of sum of money and damages.
The petitioners presented, among others, their Meralco bills for the years 1985 to 1995, indicating the marked increase in their monthly charges supposedly due to the malfunctioning electric meter, which Meralco installed after disconnection. (ECV/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (May 27, 2008 issue)
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