AKBAYAN Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno on Thursday filed a bill seeking to prohibit distribution utilities from passing system loss charges on to electricity consumers, saying households should no longer pay for power they never used.
House Bill 10585, or the proposed Zero System Loss Act, would amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act by requiring distribution utilities to absorb both technical and nontechnical system losses as part of the ordinary cost of providing electricity. Diokno said system loss charges account for about five percent of an average electricity bill, estimating that a household consuming 200 kilowatt-hours a month paid an average of P1,787.38 in such charges between August 2025 and July 2026. “This is unjust and unfair. Why would we let consumers, who have no control over the operation of the distribution system, shoulder the cost of system losses,” Diokno said. He said allowing utilities to pass on system losses reduces the incentive to modernize aging infrastructure, improve operational efficiency and strengthen anti-electricity pilferage measures. “As a result, honest paying households, including those in the lower income brackets, are forced to subsidize these inefficiencies and answer for stolen electricity,” he said. Under the measure, distribution utilities would still be allowed to recover losses directly from those responsible for electricity theft, meter tampering, fraud, vandalism and other unlawful acts instead of charging all consumers. The bill also directs the Department of Energy, the National Electrification Administration and the Energy Regulatory Commission to help electric cooperatives modernize their systems through technical assistance, infrastructure upgrades and access to financing, particularly in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. During a recent House Committee on Energy hearing, Diokno reiterated that requiring distribution utilities to absorb system loss charges would encourage greater investment in improving their distribution systems while remaining profitable. “Wouldn’t it be better for the public good if you absorb these costs and make the proper adjustments so that your business remains profitable, while at the same time improving the public interest and the public good,” he told Meralco Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie Aperoche.
