ERC urged: Stop power rate hike

SENATE deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday pressed the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to stop power companies from charging higher electricity fees to consumers starting this month, stressing that “the Department of Energy (DOE) and power companies must not pass on the cost of their failures to consumers.”

In a statement, Hontiveros said the DOE and power firms miserably failed to prepare for the effects of the El Niño, pointing out the unplanned and forced outages of more than 30 power plants, which prompted the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to raise red and yellow alerts over the Luzon and Visayas grids during the past months.

The power supply shortage, she added, subsequently caused an increase in the cost of electricity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

Hontiveros said the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is planning to pass on to its customers the higher WESM electricity costs at a rate of at least P0.50/kWh this month of June, if on a staggered basis; or to P0.80 to P0.90/kWh in one payment.

“Making consumers pay for the failures of the energy sector sets a bad precedent. The upcoming power rate hike must be disallowed. Kapag ang jeep nga nasiraan, binabalik ng driver sa mga pasahero ang bayad. Tapos ang DOE at power companies palpak na nga, magdadagdag-singil pa imbes na managot sa taumbayan. Kaunting hiya naman po (Jeepney drivers return the passengers’ fare once his jeepney breaks down, while the DOE and power companies is planning to raise electricity rates instead of being accountable to the people. Shame on you),” Hontiveros said.

She added the ERC should be fair in its “regulatory framework” by not allowing consumers to shoulder whatever costs may be incurred by the DOE and power companies due to their blunders.