Power coops back ERC probe on electricity rate hike

The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc., the association of electric cooperatives operating nationwide, expressed support for the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) investigation of all private utilities and electric cooperatives and their power suppliers regarding overpriced generation rates.

The organization and our member-ECs have been pushing for this for a long time already. Some electric cooperatives have tried to talk to generation companies and insisted on a renegotiation of their rates because at the end of the day, it is our memberconsumer owners, the ordinary Filipino, who are suffering the brunt of this unfortunate power hikes,” the group said.

Philreca said ECs are being vilified, crucified, and even tried in the court of public opinion for levying rising electricity rates in recent months.

The group said they are collectors or collecting agents only of the payments due to generation companies, the transmission system operator, and even the taxes due to the government.

Philreca said the rising cost of electricity is an unfortunate event that has been happening for the last few months due to high fuel costs. It said the biggest chunk of a consumer’s bill is the generation charge (about 61 percent).

“The increases that the consumer’s experience are brought about by increase in charges in the other component of our electricity bills—mainly, the generation charge and the resulting increase in government taxes because taxes are expressed in terms of percentages,” the group said.

Philreca said the EPIRA law allows generation companies to pass these costs to the consumers.

It said the only fees the ECs have control of - —the distribution, supply, and metering or DSM charges—remained unchanged and did not change in the last ten years.

Philreca said that proposed that power generation must be regulated. “Continuing a deregulated generation sector will only result in imbalance in the power industry, the opportunities of each to bring down the electricity cost being impeded,” it said. The group called for reintroducing a provision allowing the government (both LGU and national) to generate power “and not leave the matter only to the private sector.”