CUSTOMERS of distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) favor
prepaid electricity as it is easier to manage the household budget, the
company said in a statement yesterday.
"Prepaid and buying 'tingi' or sachet is ingrained in the Filipino
lifestyle. Many wage earners receive daily or weekly pay, so they would
prefer that their expenses -- from mobile to Internet and yes, to
electricity -- be also on a 'tingi' basis," said Alfredo S. Panlilio,
Meralco senior vice-president for Customer Retail Services, in the
statement.
Mr. Panlilio added: "This enables [consumers] to bridge the timing of
their cash outflows. If this can be made possible, they will avoid the
monthly experience of having to pay a one-time big-time amount."
Meralco based its findings on a consumer analysis research it conducted
with General Electric. The survey was done in the second half of this
year and had more than 400 respondents.
The survey also showed prepaid electricity could be used as a budgeting
tool that will teach household members to save and share expenses.
The power distributor is set to pilot prepaid metering early next year,
and will roll out the system on a wide scale later that year.
To avail of the service, Meralco customers will provide vendors a
subscriber information number. Vendors will then top up electricity
credits through text messaging.
Consumers will be informed through texts as well if the credits have
been loaded or if it has already run out. The distributor earlier said
it plans to pilot-test smart meters, or meters that work with the
prepaid electricity system.
Mr. Panlilio said the study produced "valuable insights about how
customers view prepaid electricity and this will guide Meralco in
designing the service."
"We are working hard to be able to satisfy customer needs and we will
continue to invest in innovations and customer solution initiatives to
make life easier for all Meralco customers," said Mr. Panlilio.
Meralco's reported net income rose 26% to P6.09 billion in the first
half of the year, from P4.9 billion in the same period last year.
In 2009, Meralco saw a change in management with Manuel V. Pangilinan of
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) took over as chief executive of
the utility.
Metro Pacific is the local arm of Hong Kong's First Pacific Co. Ltd.,
which partly owns the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).
Mediaquest Holdings, Inc., a unit of the Beneficial Trust Fund of PLDT,
has a minority stake in BusinessWorld. -- Emilia Narni J. David
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