Meralco to sell real estate assets for P30-B refund

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) plans to sell some of its real estate properties to raise much-needed funds to finance the mandated P30-billion refund to its customers.

"We are looking at the possibility of selling some of our real estate assets," Meralco chief finance officer Daniel Tagaza said.

Tagaza said they are currently preparing the inventory of the properties to be put on sale but added they have not yet come up with the new valuation of the properties. "Most of these properties are idle. We still have to assess if we need it or not," he said.

As of end-March 2003, the power utility firm’s properties and equipment amounts to more than P10 billion but it was not indicated how much of this accounts for the real estate properties.

Meralco will need some P3 billion a year, or a total of about P30 billion in the next nine years, to refund the overcharges of 16.7 centavos per kilowatthour (kwh) it collected from its customers from February 1994 to May 2003.

Starting June 6, the company will start the refund to its customers consuming less than 100 kwh and will spend about P1.6 billion to P2.2 billion.

Last November 15, the Supreme Court ordered Meralco to refund to its 3.8 million customers the 16.7 centavos per kwh overcharges imposed by the company over a nine-year period.