MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) is looking to lower power prices amid calls for the scrapping of system loss charges, the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Thursday.
Meralco, the country’s biggest distribution utility, has expressed reservations over President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for an end to the practice of charging consumers for electricity lost during transmission or to theft.
Regulators, however, have said that they would push forward with changes to relevant laws and the DOE said that it and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) had met with Meralco for preliminary discussions.
Meralco was said to be exploring operational adjustments to help lower prices for customers in the coming months. Company representatives were not immediately available for comment.
“The president’s directive is clear: consumers should only pay for the electricity they actually use,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said.
“Our responsibility now is to work closely with our regulators, lawmakers, and the power industry to ensure that our policies better protect consumers while preserving the reliability, stability, and long-term sustainability of our power sector,” she added.
On Wednesday, Meralco Chairman Manny Pangilinan warned that the power industry “may not survive” if system loss charges were totally scrapped.
Regulators currently allow distribution utilities to recover part of the power lost during transmission. The ERC has set the cap for private distribution companies like Meralco at 6.5 percent, and the firm has said that its actual system loss is below that at 5.72 percent as of the first quarter of this year.
The rate, however, has been reported to have gone as high as 16 percent for power cooperatives in other parts of the country.
The DOE said that it and the ERC were coordinating with the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to assess the implications of the proposed reforms on electric cooperatives and distribution utilities nationwide.
A joint task force composed of the DOE, ERC, NEA and electric cooperatives will serve as the coordinating body for a comprehensive review of Marcos’ proposed reforms.
The DOE also said that it was ready to provide full technical support to Congress for amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act and the development of other legislative measures including the proposed Sariling Kuryente Act, which aims to make solar power installations more affordable for households and small businesses.
