Did you know that you can get a 5% senior citizen discount on your water and electricity bills?
There are a few guidelines before you can avail of the 5% discount, though:
- the utility must be registered under the senior citizen
- the monthly consumption should not exceed 100 kWh of electricity or 30 cubic meters of water
The discount is granted per household regardless of how many senior citizens are living there.
Consuelo de Bobo Discount
I feel like this discount is a consuelo de bobo. 100 kWh per month is not a lot! It’s insulting, actually. Think about basic necessities using electricity – lights, electric fans, refrigerator, TV, computers, oven toaster, microwave. Most senior citizens spend a good chunk of time at home with these appliances turned on. Add all that up and it’s already waaaaay past 100 kWh per month – I checked using Meralco’s App Calculator.
And don’t forget that senior citizens can be menopausal, and are also very sensitive to heat and cold. So add in airconditioners and water heaters, too!
Also include the washing machine, spin dryer, etc…
The average senior citizen couple, even if they were living alone, would definitely exceed 100 kWh. This 100 kWh limit is just to reduce the number of people who can be eligible for this discount. And having a senior citizen who lives alone is very rare in the Philippines – most senior citizens live with their unmarried children or other relatives. And, should a senior citizen choose to live alone, if they can afford it, they usually have house help.
So what about senior citizens living with an unmarried child? Do you mean they can’t get a discount even if 2 out of 3 people in that household is a senior citizen, just because they exceeded the 100 kWh limit?
Should not all senior citizens be treated equally? Just because a senior citizen is not alone and destitute, this makes him ineligible for the utility discount, huh?
I think they should either increase the 100 kWh limit for electricity or find another way to give the senior discount – like average the electricity consumption and give the discount to the senior citizen’s portion of the electricity consumption. They can even do it like a rebate.
More info here: http://www.gov.ph/services/senior-citizens/benefits-utility-discounts/
Here’s the summary:
The grant of a minimum of five percent (5%) discount relative to the monthly utilization of water and electricity by households with senior citizens;
Provided, That the individual meters for the foregoing utilities are registered in the name of the senior citizen residing therein: provided, further, that the monthly consumption does not exceed one hundred kilowatt hours (100 kWh) of electricity and thirty cubic meters (30 m’) of water:
Provided, furthermore, that the privilege is granted per household regardless of the number of senior citizens residing therein.
To avail of the discount under this Section, the senior citizen shall:
- Apply for the discount personally or thru a representative. There shall be annual renewal of application to the utility provider.
- Submit requirements:
a. Proof of age and citizenship
b. Proof of billing. Meter registration should be in the name of the senior citizen for a period of one year
c. Proof of residence
4 responses to “Get 5% Senior Citizen Discount on Water, Electricity Bills”
What about PLDT including DSL
My 89 year old Mom has her own electric meter in her bedroom. She has a small refrigerator, an electric fan, a transistor radio, a TV, an exhaust fan, and an air conditioner, which she seldom uses, in her bedroom. Her activities for a day, that consume electricity, consist of listening to her radio and watching TV for one or two hours, with her electric fan turned on most of the day. She seldom turns on the light, that is, only when she goes to the bathroom at night, and when she has visitors on Sunday afternoons. The exhaust fan is used a maximum of approximately 6 hours per week. Her minimum consumption per month is 108 kwh, this is without turning on the air conditioner. Meralco’s 100kwh limit to avail of the 5% discount is just too stringent.
Yes, it is 🙁 Even if we have 2 senior citizens living in the house, we can’t take advantage of this either. My senior citizen mom uses the aircon almost 24/7 to keep her comfortable through her disease and it’s the bulk of our Meralco bill.
Electricity is so expensive in this country. My friends in other countries don’t even worry about saving electricity because even when they have their aircon on all the time, their electric bill only amounts to an equivalent of less than P1,500 a month!
Consuelo de Bobo!!!