The landmark Supreme Court decision announced this week that found the Manila Electric Company, Meralco, had overcharged consumers for power since 1994, possibly to the tune of 28 billion pesos, holds one moral only: Greed doesn’t always pay.

The decision came following a lawsuit being fought between Meralco and the Energy Regulatory Board. In December 1993, Meralco filed for a 21-centavo rate hike, the ERB gave provisional permission to increase rates by 18.4 centavos. In February 1998, the ERB said Meralco was in fact only entitled to a 1.7-centavo hike, and that the remaining 16.7 centavos had to be refunded to consumers.

Why it took five long years for the ERB to make a final ruling on the rate hike is bewildering. Why Meralco didn’t prepare for the eventuality that it would be hit with a huge consumer refund is equally bewildering. After being one of the greediest and most ruthless corporations in the Philippines, Meralco is now crying foul when faced with a potential bill of 28 billion pesos. Consumers, needless to say, are delighted with the Supreme Court’s ruling and can’t wait to get their hands on their refund checks!

But wait just there. Already, some analysts have suggested that Meralco might not have to give consumers the refund in cold cash: Instead Meralco might decide to pay back consumers with electrical power equal to the refund they are due. In any event, Meralco, according to consumer activist groups, owes the average household a refund of 3,500 pesos. That is equivalent to a refund of 32 pesos a month for the past 108 months of overcharging.

Since I lived in Makati from December 2000 until the end of May 2001, and dutifully paid my expensive Meralco electricity bills every month, I figure Meralco owes me 194 pesos. Since I’m living back here in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I don’t think I will accept Meralco’s offer of electricity. I want cash!

Seriously though, Meralco’s method of calculating what it charges consumers for power should be closely studied under a microscope. According to reliable reports, Meralco includes the costs of guarding and repairing its power plants and transmission lines in its electricity rates, and even includes provisions for future income tax payments. According to columnist Belinda Olivares Cunanan this is allegedly standard practice in the United States, something I find hard to believe. This would explain why the Philippines has one of the most expensive electricity in Asia.

The good news in all of this for Meralco is that it may have up to eight years in which to pay back the refund, giving it time to secure outside financing for the operation and ensuring it doesn’t fall into bankruptcy.

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Of digital receivers and satellite dishes

FOR THE PAST two days I have been drooling over my new techno gadget: My new Orbit digital satellite receiver. According to the manual that comes with it, it is officially called the Xtra Digital-XD 300. Now, I usually don’t swoon over gadgets, but this one is worth all of my swooning.

For those of you who don’t live in the Middle East, let me explain what this all means. Unlike the US or the Philippines, we never had a cable TV system here in Saudi Arabia. In the not-too-distant past, until the early 1990s, we had only two choices of television channels to watch: Saudi TV1 and Channel 2. Viewers in the Eastern Province could pick up TV signals from neighboring Bahrain, Kuwait and sometimes the UAE. We in the Western Province could sometimes pick up Egyptian TV channels in the hot and humid summer months. Those in Riyadh were stuck with only Saudi TV.

The introduction of the Orbit television network via satellite transmissions in 1991 opened up a whole new world of viewing opportunities. That is if you had money. When Orbit first launched it cost SR10,000 ($2,666) a year to subscribe! Needless to say that severely limited the number of subscribers. The price then fell to SR5,000 a year and eventually ended up at $50 a month for a while.

It was at this price range that I finally became an Orbit subscriber. Today, with the introduction of Showtime, ART channels, the Filipino Channel, Pehla and the Star Network channels, consumers have a wide choice of pay-satellite TV channels to choose from. All of this competition means that I now pay only $32 a month for 27 premium channels, along with several stereo-sound quality radio channels.

Until this week, I had been using the old Orbit receiver for the past seven years. It was black, rather heavy and overheated quickly. Don’t get me wrong. It never conked out on me. To the contrary, it performed its task well but with a minimum of information.

To check the electronic program guide one had to punch in the number 3 before the channel’s designated number and wait for ages for the program menu to pop up on the whole screen. That meant one couldn’t check the program guide and watch a program at the same time. That was annoying.

My new XD-300 is metallic gray, sleek and weighs only 2.3 kilos. Its remote control is packed with extra features not found on the old one: Press the button marked “i” and a translucent blue banner immediately pops up on the screen telling you what program and channel you’re watching. For more information, just press the half-clover leaf button and the name of the program you’re watching, the title of the next program, and the times that both programs are showing pops up. Press the “i” button after pressing the half-clover button, and you’ll get a synopsis of the program you’re watching, while the program continues playing behind the banner. Neat, huh?

You can also set up a quick list of your favorite TV channels, which Orbit calls a Zap list. After choosing your favorite channels, you can just press the button marked “TV” and a list of your favorite channels appears on the screen, enabling you to quickly navigate to your next favored channel.

The new Orbit receiver is what I like to call third generation. My old box was first generation. Orbit jumped over the second-generation receivers, such as Showtime’s, and went for one that is ready to be upgraded to future technology. The new box comes with a built-in modem for interactive services down the road. Internet and electronic shopping are just some of the services that Orbit plans to offer soon. The back of the box has a plethora of connection openings: LNB In, LNB Out, telephone line (for the Internet), an analogue satellite receiver slot, stereo audio slots, a digital audio slot, a TV slot, VCR slot, an antenna slot, and two USB slots.

For parents worried about what their children watch on TV, they can set up a parental lock system that allows certain programs to be blocked from their kids. I can also program my box to remind me when favorite programs of mine are showing. The box can also be programmed to turn itself on and tune itself to the correct channel if I want to record a program using my VCR when I’m not at home.

And if I ever get tired of my paid-for channels, I can always watch free Arabic satellite channels on the Orbit box, courtesy of the Arabsat satellite, ranging from Bahrain TV to Iraqi TV, and from Oman TV to Libya TV.

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Comments or questions? Email the author at: [email protected] or [email protected]

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Visit the author’s website at http://www.manilamoods.com