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MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has urged lawmakers to push for the review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, or the EPIRA law.
In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday, President Marcos said the EPIRA review will re-examine if the current energy policy remains appropriate for the current situation, especially to address the high electricity rates in the country.
“Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na pag-tulungan na natin ito, alang-alang sa kapakanan ng mga Pilipino. Sa taas ng presyo ng kuryente sa bansa, nahihirapan hindi lamang ang mga negosyante —kundi lalo na ang taumbayan (I am asking the Congress to work together on this for the sake of the Filipino people. With the high prices of electricity in the country, it is a burden not only for businessmen —but especially for the people),” he said.
The Chief Executive said the government has implemented initiatives to address high power rates.
These include the Lifeline Rate Program that provides power subsidies to low-income customers consuming below 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity monthly and cannot afford to pay their bills at full cost, including Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries that registered with the respective distribution utilities (DUs); Anti-Bill Shock Lending Program, a short-term loan facility for DUs and electric cooperatives; and the suspension of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market during the red alerts in the Luzon and Visayas grids.
The initiatives also include the suspension of Feed-in-Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) and the collection of the franchising fee in electricity bills, as well as providing refunds to consumers.
“Batid nating lahat na ang presyo ng kuryente dito sa ating bansa ay mataas. Kaya patuloy tayo sa pagdagdag ng mga imprastraktura ng kuryente na magpapababa ng presyo sa kalaunan. Sa kabilang banda, tinitiyak din nating makatarungan ang paniningil sa mga konsyumer (We all know that the price of electricity in our country is high. So we keep adding power infrastructure that will eventually bring down the price. On the other hand, we also ensure that consumers are charged fairly),” President Marcos said.
A recent study published by the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development showed that electricity prices in the Philippines in December 2021 remain among the highest in Southeast Asia at USD 0.16 per kilowatt hour, second to Singapore at USD 0.18 per kWh.
However, the country’s electricity rate is higher than Thailand and Indonesia at USD 0.10 per kWh, and Malaysia at USD0.05 per kWh. (PNA)
