The Manila Electric Co. is further easing the burden of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries to improve their status and break the intergenerational poverty cycle.

Meralco’s first vice president and head of corporate communications, Joe Zaldarriaga, is calling on 4Ps beneficiaries to sign up with their Lifeline Rate Program and benefit from discounted power rates.

“We continue to encourage all those qualified to be part of the program to go to our business centers and apply because this would greatly help them,” he said.

According to Zaldarriaga, of the 33,655 applications for its socialized pricing mechanism, Meralco has approved 29,576 applicants. The other applications are still being processed, he added.

Discount based on consumption

The Meralco’s Energy Regulatory Commission set Meralco’s discount program based on household consumption. Meralco customers consuming less than 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity are eligible for the lifeline program.

According to data released by the Department of Energy, less than five percent of qualified households have applied for the program. The ERC added nearly 200,000 4Ps beneficiaries have registered under the program. There are at least 4.2 million 4Ps beneficiaries nationwide.

Zaldarriaga said Meralco does not know how many of its customers are qualified to apply, but he is sounding the call for those qualified to register.

“We do not have control over who applies, so what we do is we conduct barangay caravans to encourage those qualified,” he said.