Former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares has amplified the condemnation of the electricity bill shocks that are being experienced by millions of customers in the current summer months. According to the militant leader, it is unacceptable that consumers shoulder the burden every time the...
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is seeking regulatory approval to return approximately ₱9 billion to its customers, adding to an existing multi-billion peso refund program aimed at easing the burden of high electricity costs. In an interview, Ronald Valles, Meralco head of regulatory management,...
Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a bill that seeks to remove the value-added tax (VAT) on systems loss charges. Hontiveros noted that the VAT on systems loss charges are currently being passed on to electricity consumers’ monthly bills—a “double burden” on top of the “already absurd”...
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has called out the Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) over possible fake news and disinformation on the issue of the alleged bloated electricity bills at a time of great economic hardship for many Filipinos. "Rising electricity costs is a real concern which...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) lifted the suspension of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) across the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids, restoring normal trading operations effective Friday, May 1. In a statement, the ERC explained that this WESM resumption marks a return to...
Malacañang said Congress should revisit the country’s lifeline rate system to ensure a fair and balanced distribution of electricity subsidies, amid growing concerns from consumers over rising power bills. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said this as Meralco...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has been asked to implement a staggered increase on electricity bills to prevent consumers suffer from “bill shock.” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (PROTECT) Committee,...
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...
Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV said on Tuesday, April 28 electricity subsidies and other mandated discounts should be funded through the national budget and not by consumers, particularly by low and middle-income households. Aquino, who has filed Senate Resolution No. 375, pointed ...
With Filipino consumers already reeling from punishing summer power bills, it’s time to confront an uncomfortable truth: the ₱0.0371/kWh GEA-All charge surreptitiously embedded in electricity rates is not anchored on solid statutory footing under Republic Act 9136 (EPIRA) or the Renewable...
The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) raised alarm after a 34-year-old man died in Barangay Bahay Toro, Quezon City, before dawn on Saturday, April 25, while allegedly attempting to steal live electrical cables, an incident that also triggered a power outage affecting more than 6,000 customers....
The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) urged local government units to provide free electricity to the most vulnerable households in the country. ULAP President Dakila “Dax’’ Cua said the 100 percent discount on electricity charges is a timely intervention amid ...
