Senator Sherwin Gatchalian lauded the Energy Regulatory Commission for lowering the cap on the allowable rate of system losses that can be passed on to consumers in their monthly electricity bills.
“Lowering the recoverable system loss rate is a pro-consumer action that will reduce electricity rates and force electric companies to make their operations more efficient,” said Gatchalian, chairman of both the Senate Energy Committee and the Joint Congressional Power Commission.
System loss refers to the difference between the electric energy delivered to the distribution system and the power delivered to the end-users and other entities connected to the system.
ERC has mandated a staggered decrease in the maximum allowable pass-on charge for electric cooperatives to 8.5 percent to 12 percent by 2022 from 12 percent this year.
It also implemented a lower system loss of 5.5 percent for private distribution utilities by 2021 from 6.5 percent in 2018.