EE181-1 : ENGINEERING LAWS,

CODES AND ETHICS

Topic no. 5 Magna Carta and

Anti-Electricity Pilferage Act of 1994
( RA 7832 )
• Pursuant to the provisions of
Section 41 of Republic Act no. 9136,
otherwise known as the Electricity
Power Industry Act, the Energy
Regulatory Commission hereby
promulgated the Magna Carta for
Residential Electricity Consumers as
adopted in a Resolution by the
Commission of June 9, 2004
Basic Rights:
1. To have quality, reliable, affordable, safe, and regular
supply of electric power;
2. To be accorded courteous, prompt, and non-discriminatory
service by the electric service provider;
3. To be given a transparent, non-discriminatory and
reasonable price of electricity consistent with the
provisions of RA9136.
4. To be an informed electric consumer and given adequate
access to information on matters affecting the electric
service of the consumer concerned;
5. To be accorded prompt and speedy resolution of
complaints by both the distribution utility and/or the ERC;
6. To know and choose the electric service retailer upon the
implementation of Retail Competition ; and
7. To organize themselves as a consumer organization in the
franchise area where they belong and where they are
served by the distribution utility or as a network of
organizations.
Basic Obligations:
1. To observe the terms of his contract including, among
other things, paying monthly electricity bills promptly
and honestly;
2. To allow the faithful and accurate recording of
consumption to be reflected in the appropriate device;
3. To allow the utility’s employees/representatives
entry/access to his premises for the purposes provided
for in Art. 29 hereof;
4. To take proper care of metering or other equipment that
the electric utility has installed in his premises;
5. To inform the distribution utility and/or proper
authorities of any theft or pilferage of electricity or any
damage caused by any person to the electric meter and
equipment appurtenant thereto; and
6. To cooperate with and support programs on the wise and
efficient use of electricity.
1. Basic Rights ( CONSUMER RIGHTS ):
• Article 6 to Article 27

2. Basic Obligations ( CONSUMER OBLIGATIONS ) :

• Articles 28 to Articles 35

3. FNAL PROVISIONS :
• Implementation
• Violation
• Separability Clause
• Repealing Clause
• Effectivity
EE 181-1 – EE LAW, CODES AND ETHICS

Anti-Electricity Pilferage Act of 1994 ( RA 7832 )

 Illegal Use of Electricity
• Tap, make or cause to be made any
connection with overhead lines,
service drops, or other electric service
wires, without previous authority or
consent of the private electric utility
or rural electric cooperative
concerned;

• Tap, make or cause to be made any

connection to the existing electric
service facilities of any duly registered
consumer without the latter's or the
electric utility's consent or authority;
 Illegal Use of Electricity
• Tamper, install or use a tampered
electrical meter, jumper, current reversing
transformer, shorting or shunting wire,
loop connection or any other device
which interferes with the proper or
accurate registry or metering of electric
current or otherwise results in its
diversion in a manner whereby electricity
is stolen or wasted;

• Damage or destroy an electric meter,

equipment, wire or conduit or allow any
of them to be so damaged or destroyed
as to interfere with the proper or
accurate metering of electric current; and
 • Knowingly use or receive the
direct benefit of electric service
obtained through any of the acts
mentioned in subsections (a),
Illegal Use of (b), (c), and (d)
Electricity
• Theft of electric power
transmission lines and materials.
 Prima Facie Evidence (Sec.4)

(i) The presence of a bored (ii) The presence inside the

electric meter of salt, sugar (iii) The existence of any wiring
hole on the glass cover of the connection which affects the
electric meter, or at the back and other elements that normal operation or registration of
or any other part of said could result in the the electric meter;
meter; inaccurate registration of
the meter's internal parts to
prevent its accurate
registration of consumption
of electricity;
Prima Facie Evidence (Sec.4)

(iv) The presence of a tampered, broken, or fake

seal on the meter, or mutilated, altered or
tampered meter recording chart or graph, or
computerized chart, graph, or log;
(v) The presence in any part of the building or its
premises which is subject to the control of the
consumer or on the electric meter, of a current
reversing transformer, jumper, shorting and/or
shunting wire, and/or loop connection or any
other similar device;
(vi) The mutilation, alteration, reconnection,
disconnection, bypassing or tampering of
instruments, transformers, and accessories;
Prima Facie Evidence (Sec.4)

(vii) The destruction of, or attempt to destroy,

any integral accessory of the metering device
box which encases an electric meter, or its
metering accessories; and
(viii) The acceptance of money and/or other
valuable consideration by any officer of
employee of the electric utility concerned or
the making of such an offer to any such officer
or employee for not reporting the presence of
any of the circumstances enumerated in
subpars (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), or (vii) hereof:
Prima Facie Evidence (Sec.4)

• Provided, however, That the discovery of any

of the foregoing circumstances, in order to
constitute prima facie evidence, must be
personally witnessed and attested to by an
officer of the law or a duly authorized
representative of the Energy Regulatory
Board (ERB).
 • Any person who, by direct
provision of law or by election or
by appointment by public order
and the protection and security
of life and property, such as
Officer of barangay captain, barangay
chairman, Barangay community
the Law brigade, barangay policeman,
PNP policeman, municipal
councilor, municipal mayor and
provincial fiscal.
 The private electric utility or rural
electric cooperative concerned shall
have the right and authority to
disconnect immediately the electric
service after serving a written notice
or warning to that effect, without the
need of a court or administrative
order, and deny restoration of the
same, when the owner of the house
or establishment concerned or
Disconnection of someone acting in his behalf shall
have been caught en flagrante delicto
Electric Service doing any of the acts enumerated in
Section 4(a), or when any of the
circumstances so enumerated shall
have been discovered for the second
time: Provided, That in the second
case, a written notice or warning shall
have been issued upon the first
discovery:
 Contents:
• Computation of the unbilled
consumption in kilowatthour
• Period to be used in computing the
differential billing
• The latest apprehension report
Written prior to apprehension
• Date and time of apprehension
Notice or • Condition of the meters, instrument
transformers and metering installations
Warning • Replacement made on the metering
installations, if any
• Signature over the printed name of the
inspector
• Signature over the printed name of the
consumer or his duly authorized rep
• Detailed sketch of the alleged violation (new)
 • The alleged tampered meter
subject of the offense must be
Removal of placed in a suitable container,
properly identified and sealed,
Tampered and shall be opened only for
Meter testing by the duly authorized
representative of the Board.
 • Differential billing shall refer to
the amount to be charged to the
person concerned for the
unbilled electricity illegally
Differential consumed by him as determined
billing through the use of
methodologies
 Methodologies to be used :

(a) the highest recorded monthly

consumption within the five-year billing
period preceding the time of the
discovery,

(b) the estimated monthly consumption

Differential as per the report of load inspection
conducted during the time of discovery,
Billing
(c) the higher consumption between the
average consumptions before or after the
highest drastic drop in consumption
within the five-year billing period
preceding the discovery,
 Methodologies to be used :

(d) the highest recorded monthly

consumption within four (4)
months after the time of
Differential discovery, or

Billing
(e) the result of the ERB test
during the time of discovery
 Basis for determining the period to
be recovered by the differential
billing :
(1) the time when the electric service of
the person concerned recorded an abrupt
or abnormal drop in consumption, or
(2) when there was a change in his service
Differential connection such as a change of meter,
change of seal or reconnection, or
Billing inspection
• Or in the absence thereof, a
maximum of sixty (60) billing months,
up to the time of discovery, provided
however, that, in no case, be less than
one (1) year preceding the date of
discovery
 Upon Final Judgment –
consumer loses, pays double the
differential billing
DU loses, pays double the
differential billing

Penalties: Surcharges
Consumer may be assessed a
surcharge
25% of the next clean bill for first
violation
Overview of Approved
Amendments
 Options how to recover
differential from persons other
than registered customers or
actual users
-Filing of a complaint with the
Approved regular courts or other legal
Amendments remedies
Enforcement of Disconnection
-Customer is given one business day
to settle the differential billing
 No surcharge shall be collected
unless:
-actual admission
-voluntary settlement of the
differential billing
-final judgment of violation
rendered by the regular courts or
Approved the ERC
Amendments -unauthorized loadside connections
Two Types of Inspection:
-Routine Inspection
-Anti-pilferage Inspection
 • Routine Inspection Features:
• Notice to customer of conduct of
routine inspection
• No Officer of the Law or ERC
representative required to be
present
• No removal of meter unless the
customer or actual user or their
Approved representative is present
• Findings of meter tampering
Amendments resulting from laboratory test by
the ERC can entitle the DU to
collect differential billing
• Other Prima Facie Evidence of
Illegal use has to be witnessed by
an Officer of the Law or ERC rep
 • Anti-Pilferage Inspections:
• To be conducted in the presence
of an Officer of the Law or an ERC
representative
• Inspection conducted without the
customer, actual user or their
representative, no disconnection
Approved of electric service
Amendments • Customer, actual user or their
representative refuses to witness
the inspection or sign the
Inspection Report, the Officer of
the Law must attest to that fact
supported by other evidence
 • Preferred order of
methodologies in computing for
the differential billing
• Table of average monthly
consumptions for electrical
appliances
• System loss charge shall be
Approved determined annually using the
Amendments previous year’s costs and
revenues
• Benefit sharing scheme if the
annual system loss level falls
below the cap – Guidelines to be
issued
END