Refund first before asking for rate hike, Meralco told

A LAWMAKER on Thursday urged the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to first complete the refund of P30.2 billion to its customers as ordered by the Supreme Court in 2003 before seeking another power rate hike.

Rep. Arnel Ty of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association (LPG-MA) party-list was referring to the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2003 barring the country’s biggest power distribution firm from charging its income tax obligations to its customers — a policy that Meralco had indulged in from 1994 to 2002. The High Court ordered Meralco to refund its customers P30.2 billion.