Lawmakers urge President Aquino to certify energy bill as urgentsend your feedback on this press rel

Tuesday, 24 May 2011 03:34

The House Committee on Energy today urged President Aquino to certify as urgent a measure seeking to amend certain provisions of Republic Act 9136 otherwise known as the "Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001," by extending the implementation of the lifeline rate which will end on June 26, 2011.

Rep. Henedina Abad (Lone District, Batanes), chairperson of the Committee on Energy, said the members of the panel have agreed to fast track the approval of the bill due to its urgency.

"It would be great if the President could certify this as an urgent bill. Section 73 of the EPIRA provides for a lifeline rate, which is defined as the subsidized rate given to low-income captive market end-users who cannot afford to pay at full cost. The implementation of the rate will end on June 26, 2011 unless the tenure period therefore is extended by law," Abad said.

Abad said there is need to pass an amendatory law extending the implementation of the lifeline rate to continue to provide reduced electricity costs and lessen the impact of increases in electricity rates to the poorest of the poor which is brought about by the spiraling prices of oil and other inputs to production.

Abad said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) may revisit the current lifeline threshold to come up with a more rational threshold that is fair and reasonable to the subsidizing customers.

"This socialized pricing mechanism to be set by the ERC exempts marginalized end-users from the cross-subsidy removal provided under Section 74 of the EPIRA for a period of 10 years, unless extended by law," Abad said.

Abad said the bill ensures low-income electricity consumers will not bear higher power rates brought about by the removal of cross-subsidies on electricity tariffs.

Abad said residential customers consuming more than the lifeline threshold, commercial and industrial users subsidize the lifeline customers.

Rep. Ben Evardone (Lone District, Eastern Samar) asked Sec. Jose Rene Almendras, who appeared before the House body, to make representations with the President by asking the latter to certify this bill as urgent.

Almendras told the House body that the Department of Energy (DOE) supports the intent of the bill. "However, amendments being proposed should be in harmony with the definition of lifeline rate under Section 4 of the EPIRA," Almendras said.

Almendras also recommended that the existing subsidy mechanism for the lifeline be modified by removing the burden from the non-lifeline customers.

Almendras said the provision of Lifeline Rate subsidy should be incorporated in the "Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program," wherein the poorest households in the municipalities are selected through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Ivanna Dela Peña of Meralco said they support the extension of the lifeline rate because it can contribute to the alleviation of poverty by reducing a barrier to access to electricity.

"There is a need to review the current socialized pricing mechanism to determine if the program provides benefits to the targeted sector such as the marginalized end-users and to ensure that there is no unintended bypassing of the obligation to contribute to the subsidy for lifeline consumers," Dela Peña said.

Wendell Ballesteros, general manager of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. (PHILRECA), said a review should be made on the mechanism promulgated by the ERC in the implementation of the lifeline rate in which the non-lifeline users have to pay more than the cost of their electricity consumption.