MANILA Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. has urged regulators and industry players to put consumers’ interests ahead of profits to support the administration’s push to bring down electricity costs.
At the center of the House’s effort is House Bill No. 10430, or the proposed Systems Loss Charge Abolition Act, filed by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos.
The bill supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s call in his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) to scrap so-called system losses that are currently allowed under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) to be passed on to consumers.
Speaking at a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday, Abante said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which regulates electricity rates, should focus on protecting consumers rather than the profitability of industry players.
“The thing is sa akin eh, the ERC should realize that they are a service agency; they are not a commercial agency,” he said.
He said he had conveyed the same message to the ERC chairperson.
“Sinabi ko yan sa chairman ng ERC, na sana tanggalin nyo sa isipan nyo yung kita. Ang ilagay niyo sa isipan nyo serbisyo sa taong-bayan. Iyon ang dapat ilagay sa isipan niyo,” Abante said.
The ERC has expressed support for abolishing non-technical system loss charges and lifting the 12-percent value-added tax on allowable system leakages.
Abante has also sought amendment of the EPIRA law, adding to the House’s legislative efforts to reduce electricity costs.
HB 10430 of Speaker Dy and Majority Leader Marcos seeks to stop electricity distributors from passing on to consumers losses caused by power theft, faulty meters, weak collection systems, poor maintenance, inefficient operations or negligence.
The two House leaders said end-users should not be made to pay for “controllable losses,” particularly those that result from problems that distribution utilities can prevent or address.
The House initiative is aimed at ensuring that consumers are not made to shoulder costs arising from losses that electricity distributors can control, in line with the administration’s push to make electricity more affordable for Filipino families and businesses.
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