Reps file ’10 Power Bills’ to alleviate plight of Filipino families, boost PH energy efficiency
Making good on their campaign promise, representatives of the Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty (SAGIP) Party-list hit the ground running as they filed “10 Power Bills” which aim to mitigate the burden of Filipinos in electricity consumption.
Soon as Representatives Rodante Marcoleta and Caroline Tanchay assumed office, the two lawmakers filed for the 19th Congress ten energy-related measures.
They generally fulfill one of the partylist’s priority legislative agenda—to bring down the cost of electricity as a roadmap for increased economic and business activity to generate jobs and lower the cost of basic commodities.
The Power Bills offer a wide range of solutions to the country’s pressing issues on energy, particularly in terms of efficiency, affordability, and development.
First, Marcoleta and Tanchay filed House Bill 160 or the System Loss Limitation Act of 2022, which limits the cap for system loss from 9.5% to 1%. Through this, distribution utilities will be deterred from unduly passing the burden of shouldering losses to Filipino consumers.
“Passing too much burden of incurring these system losses to the consumers is not only unfair but also deters the power firm from prioritizing quality and reliable service, knowing that they can readily pass the charges on to the consumers,” the authors said in the bill’s explanatory note.
Another measure they filed is House Bill 161 or the VAT Exemption for Covered Electric Billing Act of 2022, which exempts low-income households with a total monthly consumption of 200 kWh from 12% Value Added Tax on all electric components. This will translate to a discount of almost P240.00 per month for the covered households.
SAGIP lawmakers also sought for the amendment of the the Oil Deregulation Act through House Bill 164, or an act that will protect consumers from arbitrary Increases in prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which is an essential in every Filipino household.
Moreover, one of the Power Bills is House Bill 174 or the Act Prohibiting Cross-Ownership as among Distribution Utilities and Generation Companies, which seeks to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and avoid monopoly by eliminating the allowance for cross-ownership in the EPIRA.
“The prohibition on any form of cross-ownership will remove the conflict of interest as among distribution utilities and generation companies, allowing a level playing field for all power stakeholders,” Marcoleta and Tanchay said.
The lawmakers also filed House Bill 172 seeking the institutionalization of the Energy Investment Coordinating Council (EICC), which former President Rodrigo Duterte created in 2017.
The authors said it is necessary to further amplify the role of EICC to safeguard energy projects, “considering the threat of an energy crisis on a global scale” and “thinning energy resources on the national scale.”
The lawmakers also want to develop the Philippines’ downstream natural gas industry through House Bill 173 in order to provide an alternative source of natural gas aside from the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project.
Meanwhile, in pushing for development of energy projects, SAGIP lawmakers filed measures that would accelerate renewable energy in the country.
Among the bills were House Bill 162 or the Green Energy Auction Act, House Bill 163 or the Laguna Bay Solar Park Development Act of 2022, House Bill 170 or the Enhancing the Implementation of the Net Metering System Act, and House Bill 171 or the Act Authorizing the Development of Idled and Unutilized AFP Real Estates for Potential Sites of Renewable Energy Projects.