BRAVING heavy rains, the consumer group Power for People Coalition (P4P) last Friday stormed the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) office in Pasig calling for bolder action to address record high electricity rates, reminding the regulatory body of its duty to ensure fair rates and shield consumers from power sector abuse.
Records show rates charged by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) have been shooting up for nearly a year and burdening consumers, even as the power sector continues to be plagued by dipping reserves due to failure or derating of power plants - something ERC should not have heedlessly allowed to happen under their watch.
“It is not consumers’ fault that energy companies and Meralco kept insisting on sourcing electricity from costly energy like coal and gas, or that power generation plants are prone to conking and bringing mayhem to electricity supply and rates. Yet why is it that instead of bringing respite for consumers, ERC seems more interested in protecting the income of power companies?,” said Gerry Arances, convenor of P4P.
In March, generation companies belonging to the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc. (PIPPA) reportedly met with ERC Chair Devanadera to ask that the commission suspend the implementation of a secondary price cap in the electricity spot market as global coal, oil, and gas prices continue to rise amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, to keep them from incurring losses - an appeal that ERC said it is considering.
“We are appalled that ERC is even considering PIPPA’s proposition. Are the earnings of power companies more important than consumers’ ability to afford electricity? ERC should immediately turn down this request and instead come up with stricter price control measures. It should also be imposing heavier fines on companies it has been investigating for repeated and prolonged outages, and finding ways to stop consumers from shouldering automatic pass-through of fuel costs which power companies, especially fossil fuel ones, have been enjoying for far too long,” said Manjette Lopez, National President of multi-sectoral group Sanlakas.
The group filed a letter petition urging ERC to protect electricity consumers from soaring and volatile electricity prices and unreliable electricity supply from fossil fuel power plants and probe possible pricing plays, which it warned it should act on lest the commission faces consumers’ wrath.
“With consumers suffering ridiculously high electricity bills and mediocre service, ERC can’t afford to act like it has all the time in the world to take proper action. We took the Department of Energy to the Ombudsman last year for failing to take sufficient measures against perennial outages and rotational brownouts. We can’t say we won’t do the same to ERC if things keep going as they are,” Arances said.
The group also urged ERC to “expedite the processing and releasing of Certificate of Compliance to renewable energy” projects and endeavors which, unlike coal, gas, and other fossil fuels, are not prone to fuel price volatilities and can be urgently utilized to address power woes.
“Bawat sentimong napupunta sa napakamahal na singil sa kuryente ay sentimong binabawas sa pambili na sana ng isang ordinaryong pamilyang Pilipino ng pagkain at iba pang pangangailangan. Ito ba ang trabaho ng ERC, ang gipitin ang mga konsyumer na gaya namin samantalang malinaw na may mga posibleng solusyon naman sa krisis sa kuryente?” said Norma Rebolliedo of Samahan ng Mamamayan - Zone One Tondo (SM ZOTO) Caloocan Chapter. (P4P)
