ANGARA BATS FOR EPIRA AMENDMENTS
To effectively address RP's high electricity costs

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today pushes for the amendments on the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to effectively address the high costs of electricity in the country.

During the recent Joint Congressional Power Commission (Powercom) public hearing, Angara stressed that necessary amendments must be done in order to ease consumers from financial burden due to high electricity costs.

"Our country is second only to Japan when it comes to high electricity rates in Asia. But compared to Japan, the Filipino's income and purchasing power is low. Families' budgets are stretched to accommodate rising prices of food, fuel, and now, electricity," said Angara, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions & Currencies.

He added, "We can't help but blame the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) that has caused many of these problems in the power sector. I think we got to amend the EPIRA which is what I am pushing right now."

One of the salient EPIRA provisions that Angara wanted to amend is the authority to pass on charges not related to electricity generation.

A study conducted by UP College of Engineering faculty members was presented at the Powercom public hearing, wherein preliminary result of the study shows that a reduction of P2/ kwh on power rates can be generated from a combination of simple adjustments in regulatory policy and an amendment of the EPIRA.

"Currently, consumers continue to pay for onerous contracts and inefficiencies of power producers, aggravating the hardship of Filipinos. Instead of spending more hard-earned pesos for food and other basic commodities, the money goes to paying for electricity," Angara said.

He also stressed that consumers must not be burdened with excessive charges imposed by the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), saying that the same must be returned through billing credits.

"If we do not provide our people with some measure of support, more and more people will be pushed to the brink of poverty," he said.

According to Angara, co-author of the bill to amend EPIRA, the root cause behind high electricity rates are the onerous provisions in the EPIRA, which recognizes and allows the Purchase Power Adjustment (PPA) to be passed on to consumers and hiding it through the imposition of 'universal charge' to replace the PPA. 'This means that consumers are still burdened with paying an automatic monthly adjustment to basic electric bills to recover the changes in the cost of power purchased from private producers in the form of PPA," Angara said.

He added, "The PPA is broad enough to allow power generators and distributors to pass on to consumers the cost of its mistakes and inefficiencies as well as the burden of the onerous contracts entered into by the National Power Corporation and distribution utilities with independent power producers."

"This should not be the case. Consumers should be required to pay only for their electricity consumption. The risks should be, as in any business venture, accounted for by producers," he said.

Angara's bill, which is one of his priority bills this Congress, seeks to lessen electricity rates through the following: refinancing of stranded costs and renegotiating of IPP contracts, limiting PPA charges, and encourage true competition and transparency in the electric sector.