Meralco to relax disconnection rule, but Hontiveros wants ‘surcharges’ reviewed
By Butch Fernandez – January 19, 2021
from Business Mirror
Power lines run beside a sign for the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) Makati branch in Manila, the Philippines, on Monday, March 23, 2009. Manila Electric Co. is the largest Philippine power retailer.
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday hailed Meralco’s move to relax rules on disconnection of its delinquent customers even as the opposition lawmaker pressed for a review of additional “surcharges” being passed on to its power consumers.
The opposition senator stressed “there must be a comprehensive review of these surcharges being shouldered by consumers,” zeroing in on the controversial 15 percent weighted average cost of capital (WACC) the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) granted to the State Grid of China and its local partners in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
Pointing out this is “nearly double the 8-percent average global standard in terms of transmission rate,” Hontiveros asserted that power suppliers and NGCP “must share the burden of utmost sacrifice especially when the economy is gearing towards recovery.”
In a statement, she suggested that “perhaps our power firms should share a bigger part of the burden since they continue to enjoy higher return on investment and remain profitable even during the pandemic.”
The senator recalled that in 2019, the combined revenue of power generation suppliers ballooned to nearly P360-billion, expecting this to “continuously increase” until 2040, as she cited the 2017 total earnings of power generation, transmission and distribution suppliers added up to P897-billion.
Moreover, Hontiveros noted the NGCP was able to divide among its shareholders P188 billion in corporate dividends just 10 years into their 25-year contract to operate the power transmission system.
The lawmaker lamented that apart from getting hit by higher electric bills, electric consumers are getting whacked by unemployment and high cost of basic commodities. “Bukod sa latay ng mataas na singil sa kuryente, hinahambalos din ng unemployment at mataas na bilihin ang mga konsyumer.”
She stressed it is “unfair to sink in debt power consumers” striving to pay their electric bills, suggesting that the Duterte administration and the entire energy sector can work together to fix power rates within reach of ordinary consumers. (“Hindi patas na lulubog sa utang ang ordinaryong konsyumer na nagpupursigeng maitawid ang mga bayarin. Sana ay magtulungan ang pamahalaan at ang buong energy sector para mas maging abot-kaya ang singil sa kuryente. Sa panahong ito, unahin natin ang kapakanan ng Pamilyang Pilipino.”)
