MANILA, Philippines — Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno on Tuesday urged power distribution companies to immediately stop passing system loss charges on to consumers, saying they should act on the call made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. even before Congress amends the law.
Diokno's statement came a day after the chief executive, in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), urged Congress to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to prohibit system loss charges, including the corresponding value-added tax, from being passed on to consumers as part of efforts to lower electricity costs.
"We are calling on them not to pass on the system loss to consumers even without an amendment to the law. We hope the companies involved will act even without an amendment,” he said in a statement.
The lawmaker likewise said consumers should not have to wait for legislative action before receiving relief from high electricity bills.
Akbayan earlier filed House Resolution No. 995 seeking a congressional inquiry into generation, transmission, system loss, lifeline subsidy charges, taxes and other pass-through costs included in consumers' monthly electricity bills.
The resolution also seeks to examine possible amendments to the EPIRA, particularly provisions on electricity pricing and pass-through charges, and review Energy Regulatory Commission rules to determine whether they adequately protect consumers.
Marcos last Monday lamented how systems loss is “being passed on to consumers and put in the bill, subject also to value-added tax” and that consumers must not bear the burden for it as it is not right for utility firms to ask consumers to pay for it.
