THE Energy Regulatory Commission should expedite the distribution rate reset of Meralco, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said.

In a statement, Sen. Gatchalian, the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, noted that the ERC must “expedite the reset of the power distribution rate for Meralco.”

“As we anticipate revised distribution rates that should be more favorable for our consumers, it is imperative that we not only hope but demand a refund if applicable,” Gatchalian said.

According to Gatchalian, he already called on the former ERC chairperson at her remarks at the House inquiry.

The said inquiry was over the alleged practice for Meralco to cover the expenses of ERC consultants tasked to determine the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

She said during the hearing that this has subsequently impacted consumer power rates but the practice has been discontinued.

Earlier, Sta. Rosa Laguna lone district Representative Dan Fernandez said that the adjusted WACC is one of the reasons for consistently high power rates.

In an earlier statement, VP and head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga said Meralco is fully compliant with all government regulations and even outperformed the level of service required by the regulator. 

"Further, while Meralco is the largest utility in the country, it has never committed and has no record of any anti-competitive behavior or abuse of market power. On the contrary, we have always managed to supply electricity to our customers in the most transparent and least cost manner,” said Zaldarriaga.