Manila, Nov. 6 -- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian filed a measure seeking to abolish the collection of bill deposits by distribution utilities (DUs) and electric cooperatives (ECs) and to mandate the refund of existing deposits with accrued interest.

In Senate Bill No. 1470 or the Anti-Bill Deposit Act, Gatchalian said the collection of bill deposits by DUs and ECs, as authorized under the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers (MCRERC), as amended, "has long imposed an unnecessary financial burden on consumers."

The bill also directs the Energy Regulatory Commission "to conduct an independent audit of all bill-deposit accounts and to prescribe non-deposit-based credit-risk alternatives such as prepaid or installment-based arrange...