Lawmakers call for affordable and accessible power supply

CEBU, Philippines — Senate President Win Gatchalian and House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan have called for measures to make electricity more affordable and accessible to Filipino consumers.

In a statement, Gatchalian urged the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to complete the government’s rural electrification program by 2028, noting that nearly three million Filipino households remained without electricity as of June last year.

According to him, universal access to reliable electricity must go hand in hand with efforts to lower power costs.

He noted that the NEA has been allocated P13.16 billion this year, including P9.342 billion for the National Rural Electrification Program and P2.6 billion in loans for electric cooperatives.

He said reliable electricity is essential to improving the quality of life of Filipino families, while strengthening the power distribution network could help reduce electricity costs in the long term.

In a separate statement, Libanan said consumers in the Visayas could benefit from lower electricity rates and possible refunds following the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) suspension of excessive Line Loss and Congestion Cost (LLCC) charges.

He disclosed that some consumers saw their electricity bills increase by P2 to P5.99 per kilowatt-hour due to the erroneous pass-on of the charges. He added that excessive LLCC charges in Eastern Visayas were estimated at P1.55 billion since January.

The ERC ordered corrective measures on August 13 after finding that the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) had incorrectly calculated the congestion component of electricity prices under certain conditions, particularly when the high-voltage direct current links connecting Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao became constrained.

The ERC directed the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines to suspend the collection or payment of affected Line Rental Trading Amounts and permanently correct the pricing methodology.

It also ordered an independent audit and the recalculation of market settlement allocations dating back to June 26, 2021.

Libanan said the review could result in refunds for consumers who were overcharged, with any adjustments potentially spread over several billing periods.