Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, Sept. 14 called on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and power companies to suspend any planned electricity rate increases until the Senate Committee on Energy is done with its investigation into the rotational power outages last May and June.
Hontiveros made the call as the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced that it will impose a new, higher power rate for the month of September, supposedly due to a higher generation charge.
She said the ERC should reject any power rate hike at least until the Senate wraps up its ongoing probe into the recent power outages that led to economic losses of around P116-million.
“It is a matter of fairness and compassion. If this rate hike in September is allowed, it would mean that power rates have increased for six straight months now,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“Maawa naman tayo sa mga pamilyang hindi na alam kung paano makaka-sabay sa walang tigil na pagtaas ng presyo ng pagkain at ibang pangunahing bilihin (Let’s provide some leeway especially to the families who are having difficulty finding out how to cope with the rising prices of food and basic commodities),” Hontiveros said.
She added that due consideration should be given to consumers, especially since neither government agencies like the ERC nor power firms have yet provided the public with explanations or compensation in relation to the power blackouts in previous months.
Hontiveros has repeatedly urged the Department of Energy (DOE), ERC and other agencies to help lower the price of electricity being paid by consumers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Meralco eventually made a commitment to implement a “relaxed policy” for disconnecting power consumers who are unable to pay their bills especially during the imposition of lockdowns.
The lawmaker had also pushed the ERC to recompute the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), in order to bring down monthly power costs.
In response, the ERC has said that they are now reviewing the WACC and affirmed that lower power rates are “feasible.”