Senator Risa Hontiveros called on Monday for a thorough overhaul of the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) automatic pass-through policy, insisting that power-related fees must be fully verified before hitting consumers’ electricity bills.
In a press release, Hontiveros hit out at the existing framework, which permits power distribution utilities to collect generation, transmission, and system-loss costs well before the ERC can validate whether these charges are accurate and fair.
“Review first, collect later. Kailangang patunayan at ipaliwanag muna ang bawat sentimong sisingilin bago ito ipasa sa konsyumer. Dapat ganyan ang polisiya natin,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“Bakit nga ba hindi puwedeng suriin ng ERC ang mga pass through charges bago ipasa sa konsyumer? Baligtad kasi ang sistema natin: Pinagbabayad muna ang taumbayan bago lubusang masuri kung tama at makatwiran ang singil,” she added.
Under standard ERC rules, electric cooperatives and distribution utilities can instantly pass specific external operational costs onto consumers, leaving the regulatory review and verification process to be conducted long after the money has been collected.
The lawmaker’s appeal coincides with a fresh wave of utility rate hikes impacting households.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines recently implemented a ₱0.77-per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) jump in transmission fees, coming closely on the heels of a ₱0.34-per-kWh spike in generation costs implemented by Meralco.
Taken together, these adjustments are projected to drive up the monthly utility expense of a typical household using 200 kWh by roughly ₱222.
As mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) alongside ERC frameworks, generation and transmission fees are unbundled from a utility firm’s core distribution revenues and are funneled directly to power generators and the grid system operator.
Hontiveros cautioned that allowing automatic cost recoveries strips utility companies of any real incentive to negotiate cheaper supply deals, knowing the public will bear the burden regardless of regulatory clearance.
Furthermore, she pointed out that these compounding power hikes threaten to instantly wipe out the gains from the recent ₱60 daily minimum wage adjustment granted to private-sector employees in Metro Manila.
“Ang hinihingi natin ay simpleng proteksyon: suriin muna bago singilin. Hindi dapat mauna ang dagdag-singil at mapilitang magbayad ang konsyumer at maghintay na lamang kung magkakaroon man ng adjustment o refund,” she said.