The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have yet to "clean" the list of marginalized consumers who will enjoy the extended lifeline rate subsidy in their electric bills.

According to ERC Chairperson Monalisa C. Dimalanta, an average of P408 million in monthly subsidy is being accorded to the roughly six million lifeline power users.

She nevertheless qualified that the list of beneficiaries would still go through some "recalibration process" because there are already preconditions under Republic Act 11552 or the law enforcing the extension of the lifeline rate subsidy up to 50 years – on who can qualify to avail of the extended cost subsidy in the bills.

On the final number of consumers that will remain in the lifeline subsidy roll, Dimalanta said “we will still draw up the new criteria based on the new law and its IRR (implementing rules and regulations).”

Based on previous ERC pronouncements, end-users who are living in condominiums as well as gated villages or communities will no longer be part of the lifeline users’ classification even if their consumption falls within the monthly threshold of 100-kilowatt hours (kWh) or less.

The law’s IRR was already completed and signed by the relevant agencies including the ERC, DSWD and the Department of Energy.

“This means that the country’s marginalized electricity end-users will continue to benefit from the subsidy provided under the lifeline program,” the regulatory body stressed.

The Commission expounded that “the actual discounts to end-users will depend on the lifeline program per distribution utility (DU) approved by the ERC.”

Despite criticisms that the extended lifeline rate program will just push some segments of Filipino consumers deeper into subsidy addiction, Energy Secretary Raphael P. M. Lotilla said that the such state-underpinned policy “is one of the best designed lifeline rate programs in the world; ours is better targeted.”

As prescribed under the law, “the ERC, DOE and DSWD, in consultation with the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) and other public and private stakeholders, with the approval of the Joint Congressional Energy Commission, shall issue, adopt and promulgate the rules and regulations to implement the provisions of RA 11552.”

The DOE has to formulate and promulgate policy guidelines on the implementation of the subsidy program while the DSWD will provide the list of qualified household-beneficiaries nationwide using a standard targeting system in order to ensure a uniform and objective procedure of identifying potential beneficiaries.

The list to be submitted by the DSWD to the DOE and the ERC is based on the qualified household-beneficiaries under the 4Ps Act, which sets forth the poverty reduction strategy of the government.

For ERC, it will determine the new lifeline level, provide criteria for qualifications of a marginalized end-user to avail of lifeline discount rates and monitor compliance to the implementation of the program.