THE furor over numerous complaints about electric bill “shock” during the Covid-19 quarantines should make policy makers revisit calls for an extensive review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), an economist said on Monday.
University of the Philippines Professor Rene Ofreneo, testifying at the Senate inquiry into the “Meralco bill shock,” pressed for an extensive review of the 20-year reform measure, which critics had often blamed for the Philippines having one of the highest power costs in the region.
The experience with power bills in the quarantine revives the need for a thorough review of Epira, which is now over two decades old, Ofreneo, president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, told the Senate Committee on Energy, chaired by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.
Ofreneo reminded senators that Epira’s flaws may be “a possible cause of high electricity rates.”
While at it, Ofreneo suggested, “let us review what happened to stranded debts of National Power Corporation [Napocor]” and the performance of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Moreover, Ofreneo prodded Meralco to “seriously move away from insisting on having most of its power supply agreements (PSAs) based on coal sources,” noting that this bias for coal comes at a time “when costs of renewables are now lower.”
Various nonprofit groups, including FDC, have been egging power players in the country to drop coal as their main source and look toward solar, hydro and wind, where increasing efficiencies in recent years and improving economies of scale have brought down costs.
Meralco itself, through its foundation, has been backing initiatives to supply communities on off-grid islands with the means for solar power, among others.
Ofreneo stressed, however, that Meralco should do more to support the drive “toward clean energy.”
At the same hearing, Sen. Francis Tolentino said he is proposing a measure in tandem with Gatchalian, whereby someone who did his work from home can claim as a deductible expense, when paying taxes, whatever costs they incurred, whether they work for a government agency or a private corporation. When they are working in the office, they consume electricity for airconditioning. So, when they work at home, that will add to their bills at home, he noted.
The measure will amend the National Internal Revenue Code “providing for an appropriate, considerable, reasonable deduction on gross income of any taxpayer who was able or required to work away from the office and then generated additional Meralco consumption because he was able to produce something for the government office or for a private employer.”