Poor households get 30 years more of subsidized electricity bills

Some six million “poorest of the poor” families will enjoy subsidized electricity bills for another 30 years after the approval of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the law extending and enhancing the implementation of the lifeline rate, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said this week.

In a statement, the ERC said it jointly signed with the Department of Energy and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) the IRR of Republic Act (RA) No. 11552 on October 28, 2022.

RA 11552 is also known as “An Act Extending and Enhancing the implementation of the Lifeline Rate, Amending for the Purpose Section 73 of RA 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2021.”

The measure extended the 20-year-coverage subsidy provision for marginalized electricity consumers to 50 years.

This means that those from the marginalized sector who consume electricity will continue to enjoy government subsidies in their electricity bill for an additional 30 years.

Based on ERC records, the lifeline program provided an average monthly subsidy of P541 million to about six million marginalized electricity consumers as of the first half of 2022.

The EPIRA defines the lifeline rate as the subsidized rate given to marginalized or lowincome end-users who cannot afford to pay at full cost.

The marginalized endusers refer to low-income, captive, household electricity consumers who have levels of electricity consumption below a threshold level to be determined by the ERC.

The ERC said the actual discounts vary, depending on the lifeline program’s per distribution utility computation approved by the regulatory body.

“The lifeline rate program in the Philippines is one of the best-designed lifeline rate programs in the world; ours is better targeted,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

The ERC said the priority among the endusers of the extended subsidy timeframe were qualified household beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act, the master list of which is with the DSWD.

The 4Ps is aimed at national poverty reduction through the provision of cash transfer to extremely poor households to improve health, nutrition and education.

ERC chairman and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta said the ERC would provide the criteria for qualifications of a marginalized enduser while the DSWD will provide the list of qualified household beneficiaries to ensure a uniform and objective procedure for identifying potential beneficiaries.