Senate President Win Gatchalian has reiterated his call for the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to execute an exhaustive audit of fuel pass-through expenses following a fresh surge in pump prices this week.
In a Tuesday statement, Gatchalian urged the energy regulator to heighten its oversight to ensure that any electricity rate hikes triggered by elevated fuel prices remain fully justified, reasonable, and transparent.
He warned that with local fuel costs climbing past ₱100 per liter, Filipino households face potential rate increases on power bills if rising generation expenses continue to go unexamined.
Gatchalian previously authored Senate Resolution 581, which seeks an inquiry into the ERC’s delays in routinely auditing fuel cost pass-through mechanisms.
He emphasized that as of June, the Philippines recorded the highest average residential power rate across Southeast Asia at ₱12.43 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), surpassing Singapore’s ₱12.34 per kWh.
The lawmaker highlighted distribution utilities like the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), where fuel costs represented 86.16% of total generation charges in July due to heavy reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.
While the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 permits power distributors to pass fluctuations in fuel and generation costs directly to end-users, the law mandates that the ERC periodically verify these figures to avoid overcharging and uphold least-cost power standards.
Lawmakers and consumer groups continue to press the regulator over persistent post-audit backlogs that allow unverified charges to reach consumers.