The 50% discount
Published Nov 22, 2022 12:03 am
MEDIUM RARE
Jullie Y. Daza
Weeks before he was appointed to take stewardship of GSIS, Wick Veloso boldly stated that electricity rates could (should?) go down by 50 percent. He was president of PNB at the time but what he said made us commoners hopeful that together with private citizen-pundit Butch Valdes, something could be done to make both their cheaper-by-50-percent projections come true.
Now that the Japanese government is poised to cut household electricity bills by 20 percent as a means to fight inflation, a model has been set for other countries to follow. Starting early next year, the program will also help the commercial and business sector though by not as much as 20 percent, while households will also save on their monthly gas service charges.
Our problem – beyond the envy we feel – is that, as reported between Malacañang and Congress, the envisioned cut will be on VAT, a loss of ₱187 billion annually to government, not on our bills. In other words, government revenue will suffer while the so-called oligarchs (Butch’s word) and oligopolists (Rep. Joey Salceda’s word) won’t feel the pinch.
The impact on consumers would be “grossly lacking,” according to Butch. During the last presidential campaign I remember at least one candidate, Manny Pacquiao, promising to reduce electricity bills.
Compared with Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, our streets are too dark for man, woman, and child as soon as the sun has set. If other countries can shine through the night ‘til dawn as brilliant, safe and secure bastions of commerce and civilization, why can’t we? On the other hand, our handsome tollways and Skyways are a model of infrastructure, as long as all of them are lighted properly, and all the way, please.
Why is electricity so expensive hereabouts? The usual explanation is that it takes at least five years and tons of money to set up a power plant. And yet all those government agencies that were set up during the FVR administration (1992-98) have not gone beyond “regulating” the supply and distribution of electricity.
Cheaper power, it has been pointed out by advocates like Mark Cojuangco, is doable with nuclear energy. Nuclear or unclear, let’s borrow Wick Veloso from GSIS for a few days and pick his brain.
Jullie Y. Daza
Weeks before he was appointed to take stewardship of GSIS, Wick Veloso boldly stated that electricity rates could (should?) go down by 50 percent. He was president of PNB at the time but what he said made us commoners hopeful that together with private citizen-pundit Butch Valdes, something could be done to make both their cheaper-by-50-percent projections come true.
Now that the Japanese government is poised to cut household electricity bills by 20 percent as a means to fight inflation, a model has been set for other countries to follow. Starting early next year, the program will also help the commercial and business sector though by not as much as 20 percent, while households will also save on their monthly gas service charges.
Our problem – beyond the envy we feel – is that, as reported between Malacañang and Congress, the envisioned cut will be on VAT, a loss of ₱187 billion annually to government, not on our bills. In other words, government revenue will suffer while the so-called oligarchs (Butch’s word) and oligopolists (Rep. Joey Salceda’s word) won’t feel the pinch.
The impact on consumers would be “grossly lacking,” according to Butch. During the last presidential campaign I remember at least one candidate, Manny Pacquiao, promising to reduce electricity bills.
Compared with Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, our streets are too dark for man, woman, and child as soon as the sun has set. If other countries can shine through the night ‘til dawn as brilliant, safe and secure bastions of commerce and civilization, why can’t we? On the other hand, our handsome tollways and Skyways are a model of infrastructure, as long as all of them are lighted properly, and all the way, please.
Why is electricity so expensive hereabouts? The usual explanation is that it takes at least five years and tons of money to set up a power plant. And yet all those government agencies that were set up during the FVR administration (1992-98) have not gone beyond “regulating” the supply and distribution of electricity.
Cheaper power, it has been pointed out by advocates like Mark Cojuangco, is doable with nuclear energy. Nuclear or unclear, let’s borrow Wick Veloso from GSIS for a few days and pick his brain.