SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri, under interpellation at Monday’s session where he expressed concern over rising power rates in the provinces, gave assurances that “the Senate will be fair” to electric cooperatives.
The Senate leader gave the assurance under questioning at Monday’s plenary deliberations following his privileged speech as senators moved to review the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) enacted over 20 years ago.
Senator Risa Hontiveros raised the question of “fairness” as she interpellated Zubiri and expressed relief that ‘the Senate leader “recognized the role of electric cooperatives” under the EPIRA passed in 2001.
Hontiveros conveyed her concerns as the Senate moved to review the EPIRA as one option to lower the power rates in the country. She asked Zubiri to “accord fair treatment to electric cooperatives,” adding that, “At any point during the discussions on the review of EPIRA, my fear is that the electric cooperatives will be placed in the hot seat.”
Zubiri, in turn, told Hontiveros that “the possibility of conducting a review of EPIRA would not mean privatizing the distribution utilities.”
The Senate leader added: “I totally agree with the position of the good lady senator. We are not here to dissolve electric cooperatives. What we actually want is to help them.”
Minority Leader Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, another Mindanaoan like Zubiri, also questioned the steadily increasing electric rates in the south and moved for the review of the role of all electric cooperatives.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, electric cooperatives are supposed to be non-profit, board of directors are representatives of the consumers, they are called the trustees who look for the welfare of consumers so, apparently the entire concept is not working.” Pimentel pointed out.
For her part, Sen. Grace Poe raised alarm over the disparity in the prices of electricity rates in Metro Manila and those in the provinces.
Poe, who chairs the Committee on Public Services, lamented that electricity fees in Metro Manila had been “significantly lower” than those charged from consumers in the provinces, even as they suffer from intermittent power supply and poor services by electric cooperatives.
“What have they been doing with the money that they have been receiving [from the consumers]?” Poe asked, referring to electric cooperatives, adding that the profits could have been used to improve their services.
The senator called for a review of the contracts entered into by the electric cooperatives with power suppliers to mitigate the high cost of their services. Poe also asked her colleagues to look into proposals to remove the 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on generation charge to possibly bring down electricity prices.