POWER rates in the Philippines, among the highest in Asia, pose a threat to the economic goals of “Bagong Pilipinas” of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, a consumer group said.
Rodolfo Javellana Jr, president of United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC), said in a statement sent to media, that the 57-centavo per kilowatt hour increase in power rates announced by Meralco is a new problem for the ordinary consumer.
Javellana said the high power rates, especially in Meralco service areas accounting for more than 75 percent of the economy, is a major disincentive in efforts to attract more investors, foreign or local.
Meralco recently announced that the 57-centavo increase was necessary to recoup a 45-centavo per kwh rise in generation costs that began last month.
“The 'Bagong Pilipinas initiatives will not be realized if electricity rates continue to be expensive and costly,” Javellana said.
“The foreign investors we are trying to attract will not set up business here due to the prohibited electricity prices those companies are owned by a few oligarchs," Javellana added.
The UFCC head said to bring a more investor friendly business climate, Congress must dismantle laws allowing monopolies in electric utilities and revise the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA of 2001 to lower the cost of electricity in the country.
Javellana said EPIRA is the root of evil in the power industry and legislators should see it.
"If that is the law, then we should revise or modify, instead of them prioritizing amending the Constitution,” Javellana said.
“We want the economy to improve, we want more 'foreign direct investments', then electricity must be made affordable so that there will a lot of investments going in the country,” Javellana said.
“The key here is the EPIRA (which must amended or revised)," Javellana added.
The effects of adjusting power rates to reasonable levels would be felt immediately in terms of more investments, he said.
To conduct a thorough review of EPIRA, Javellana said it was also important to look deeper into the practices of power utilities and allegations of monopoly.
The investigation by the House of Representatives is already ongoing after a privilege speech by Laguna Rep Dqn Hernandez accusing Meralco of franchise abuse, which Meralco had denied.
