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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Bibilisan': House energy panel vows to swiftly make Marcos' power cost reforms a reality

'Bibilisan': House energy panel vows to swiftly make Marcos' power cost reforms a reality

Published Jul 29, 2026 11:29 am

At A Glance

  • House Energy Committee Chair Jose Alvarez commits to fast-tracking legislation to implement President Marcos' priority energy reforms, including measures to lower electricity costs and expand access to reliable power.
  • Alvarez backs the removal of systems loss charges and supports the proposed Sariling Kuryente Act, which would ease installation of rooftop solar and battery storage systems for households and businesses.
  • Murang Kuryente Rep. Arthur Yap urges broader reforms, saying all pass-through charges—such as transmission, ancillary services, and fuel adjustments—should be reviewed to ensure consumers are not paying for inefficiencies beyond their control.



The House Committee on Energy committed to fast-track the legislative measures needes to implement President Marcos' priority energy reforms aimed at reducing Filipinos' electricity expenses, as stated in his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Thus, said committee chairman Palawan 2nd district Jose Alvarez, who also cited the President’s push for affordable and reliable power for Filipino households.
“The President has laid down a clear and compelling direction—to make electricity more affordable and ensure that more Filipino families have access to reliable and sustainable energy," he said on Wednesday, July 29.
"The House Committee on Energy fully supports this agenda and stands ready to translate these priorities into concrete legislation,” Alvarez said.
The veteran lawmaker said that the committee will pursue the fastest available legislative route to ensure the prompt passage of the President’s priority energy measures.
He noted that the energy panel has already approved on third and final reading several landmark bills that form part of the administration’s Energy Legislative Agenda. These include the proposed Waste-to-Energy Act, Energy Storage Systems Act, Energy Regulatory Commission Restructuring Act, and the Biofuels Act.
Removal of systems loss charges backed
Alvarez likewise expressed strong support for the President’s proposal to eliminate the practice of passing systems loss charges on to electricity consumers. He said that ordinary Filipinos should no longer bear costs beyond their control.
He also welcomed the proposed Sariling Kuryente Act, which seeks to remove unnecessary regulatory and administrative barriers to the installation of rooftop solar panels and battery energy storage systems, empowering households and businesses to generate their own clean and affordable electricity.
According to Alvarez, several measures addressing system loss charges have already been referred to the House Committee on Energy and are scheduled for deliberation.
Meanwhile, the committee is currently consolidating and drafting a comprehensive version of the proposed Sariling Kuryente Act for filing in the House of Representatives.
“The House Committee on Energy will continue to work with urgency and purpose to pass these priority reforms. Affordable electricity is not merely an economic issue—it is a matter of improving the quality of life of every Filipino family, strengthening our industries, and securing the country’s long-term energy future,” Alvarez said.
Look at other pass-through charges--Yap
Meanwhile, Murang Kuryente Party-list Rep. Arthur Yap is urging the President to go further and confront the full architecture of pass-through charges that consumers are made to shoulder.
“The President has opened the door. Let us not stop at systems loss,” Yap said.
“Systems loss is only one line on the bill. Beneath it sit transmission, ancillary services, universal charges, feed-in-tariff allowances, and fuel adjustments — all passed through to the consumer, none of them of the consumer’s making," he noted.
"The principle the President has affirmed is correct: Filipinos should not pay for electricity they never consumed, and should not pay for inefficiencies beyond their control. That principle must be applied to every pass-through charge, not just one," Yap said, referring to Marcos' SONA last Monday, July 27.
Yap is hopeful the twin measures he filed will now be converted into priority LEDAC bills: House Bill (HB) No. 9218, which regulates pass-through charges and moves toward eliminating systems losses altogether, and HB No. 8415, which excludes systems loss charges from the value-added tax (VAT) base on electricity.
LEDAC stands for the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, which is headed by the President himself.

Related Tags

Jose Alvarez House of Representatives SONA Arthur Yap Marcos PBBM systems loss charges Pass-through charges
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