Electric meters to be color-coded – ERC

The color coding system used in the transport sector and even in garbage collection will soon be adopted in the power sector.

In a resolution, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said distribution utilities (DUs) like the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will be required to place colored stickers in their electric meters.

According to the commission, this move will enable easy inspection and examination of metering devices of DUs.

The ERC said “the attachment of color-coded meter sticker would make it apparent, even from a distance, that the meter has already been tested and sealed by the ERC within a specified year.”

The color-coded stickers, the ERC said, will be attached on the glass covers of the electric meters.

The ERC, created with the enactment of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, is mandated to oversee that the welfare of electricity consumers are protected and guarded against unlawful practices in the power sector.

Under its distribution services and open access rules (DSOAR), it was explicitly provided “that no meter shall be placed in service unless it has been tested, certified and sealed by the ERC.”

The regulatory body also said that this new meter monitoring rule will facilitate the compliance of DUs within the next two years when meters are prescribed to undergo testing.

Once published, the new rule will become effective immediately.

The ERC did not say how much budget will be needed by the DUs to be able to put these stickers in all of their electric meters.