Consumers and lawmakers cheered the SONA pledge to scrap system loss charges as if Christmas had come early with a gift-wrapped power discount. But electricity has a wicked sense of humor: erase the line item today, and the cost may quietly return tomorrow wearing a different name. After all, no...
Angry at your electricity bill? Good. That’s the first spark of consumer revolt. If the “power of choice” remains stuck in regulatory traffic, consumers need to unlock their own options: solar on their rooftops or collective purchasing via the Retail Aggregation Program (RAP) to knock down...
A week from now, President Marcos returns to the SONA podium for what is essentially the home stretch of his term. Expect the usual familiar themes, predictable applause, and perhaps a standing ovation from the gallery. Most likely, we will also hear another replay of the greatest hit on the...
If there is one thing that has united consumers in recent months, it is not a national holiday or a collective celebration: it is the shared shock and frustration of opening their electric bills. For the millions of subscribers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), every billing cycle has become an...
If you look closely enough, today’s landscape tells a rather unsettling and ironic story: hillsides and mountainous terrains are being shaved bare, while fertile farmlands are steadily turned into endless rows of solar panels—as if we can run a country entirely on sunshine and somehow expect...
If passing laws were an Olympic sport, last year’s Senate would have taken home the gold. The bill creating the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilAtom) breezed through its third and final reading in a single day—and without a single interpellation on the floor. By all...
PARIS, France – The future energy mix demands the coexistence of nuclear and renewable energy (RE) technologies, but the growing prevalence of RE-induced negative pricing is exposing fundamental weaknesses in new market design—weaknesses that nuclear power supply agreements (PSAs) must confront...
BONN, Germany – The newly unveiled COP31 three-pronged target looks like a climate makeover show: scaled-up electrification, less waste piling up like bad decisions, and buildings put on a strict energy diet. As rolled out by the COP31 Presidency, these next-level commitments will focus on three...
As the proposed Philippine Strategic Petroleum Reserve (PSPR) takes shape, consumers must keep a close eye on the government and their hands firmly on their wallets. While the country may need an oil stockpile, taxpayers and motorists should not end up becoming the reserve’s permanent source of...
Twenty-five years after the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) restructured the country’s electricity sector, government and industry players are expected to raise a toast to “market liberalization” as a success story. Whether consumers feel just as energized, however, is another...
Are you afraid of the dark? Well, that depends on whether we are talking about horror movies or the national power supply! Just when Filipino consumers thought they could finally survive the summer’s rotational blackouts, the international energy market strolled in like a sequel villain,...
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) annual summer ritual is familiar: it promises that the electricity supply will be “enough and stable,” but the power grid clearly is not getting the memo. After decades of forecasting, energy officials still miss the mark so consistently that it almost feels...
