Ranking House of Representatives members are up in arms over the glut of pass-through charges on electricity bills that consumers have to pay.

Such charges include the Senior Citizen Discount, Lifeline Rate discount for 4Ps beneficiaries, Feed-in Tariff Allowance, and Green Energy Auction Allowance that are all mandated by law to be collected by electric companies.

Murang Kuryente Party-list Rep. Arthur Yap, a vice chairman of the House Committee on Energy, said the it was incumbent upon the government to shoulder the cost of subsidies reflected on the bills. He pointed to the renewable energy (RE) sector in particular.

As a matter of public policy, gusto nating makapag-attract ng maraming investors sa solar power, yung mga nasa wind, yung mga nasa tidal wave, kung ano-anong renewable energy, geothermal," Yap told House reporters.

(We want to attract many investors in solar power, those in wind, those in tidal wave, and other renewable energy sources like geothermal.)

"Yes, we want investors to come in. Pero bakit po tayong mga consumers ang kailangang magbayad ng subsidiyo to attract the investors?” he asked.

(But why is it that we consumers have to pay subsidies to attract the investors?)

“Yung [FIT] or [GEA], tayo ang nagbabayad doon for investors to come in. Kung talagang importante sa bansa natin yan, hindi ba dapat yang government policy na ‘yan ay dapat ang magbayad ang gobyerno? Bakit tayong mga consumers ang nagbabayad niyan?” wondered Yap.

(As for the FIT or GEA, we are the ones paying there so investors will come in. If that is truly important for our country, shouldn’t that government policy be funded by the government? Why are we consumers the ones paying for that?)

House members have echoed the need for stronger RE policies in light of the global price shocks, which has exposed how costly dependence on fossil fuels can be for countries like the Philippines.

Yap had the same sentiments regarding the Senior Citizen Discount and Lifeline Rate. He suggested that the needed funds for these should be included in the national budget.

“Eh, lahat po ng charges na yan, if those are important policies we want to promote, hindi ba dapat government ang magbayad nyan? Bakit po yung electric consumers ang nagbabayad?” Yap stressed.

(All of those charges, if those are important policies we want to promote, shouldn’t the government be the one paying for them? Why are electric consumers the ones paying?)

House Assistant Minority Leader Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno agreed with Yap in that such subsidies should not be shouldered by consumers.

“The people are barely scraping by amid the crisis and soaring prices, they shouldn’t be forced to shell out their hard-earned money unnecessarily. Hindi tama na sisingilin ito sa consumers, lalo ngayong nasa gitna tayo ng krisis at mataas ang presyo ng bilihin at produktong petrolyo,” he said in a statement.

(It is not right to pass this cost on to consumers, especially now that we are in the middle of a crisis and facing high prices of goods and petroleum products.)

Diokno urged the government to review and reconsider the implementation of such rules.

“Kailangang suriing mabuti ang EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) Law at baguhin ang rules ng Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Ang kumpanya at ang kanilang mga shareholders ang dapat sumalo sa Lifeline Discount—hindi ang taumbayan,” he said.

(The EPIRA Law must be thoroughly reviewed, and the rules of the ERC must be amended. The company and its shareholders should shoulder the Lifeline Discount—not the people.)

He described as unfair the EPIRA Law’s provision allowing power firms to collect from consumers the Lifeline Discount for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

As for the senior citizens’ discount, Diokno said Republic Act (RA) No. 9994 mandates that electric companies may claim as tax deductions the discounts provided to the elderly. “Hindi na ito dapat sinisingil sa consumers dahil mababawas ‘yan sa babayarang tax ng kumpanya,” he explained.

(This should no longer be charged to consumers because it will be deducted from the company’s tax obligations.)