Gatchalian flags upcoming power rate hike amid inflation surge

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday raised concerns on the forthcoming increase in Meralco’s electricity rates amid a surge in inflation.

Meralco recently announced that electricity rates in October will be at P15.0615 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is a P0.3191 per kWh increase from September’s P14.7424 per kWh, citing elevated fuel costs.

The Philippine Statistics Authority also recorded a year-high rise in inflation at 7.2 percent in September.

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“Nakakagulat, dahil ang ating consumers right now, ang ating mga kababayan, hirap na hirap na sa pagbayad ng mataas na presyo ng bilihin lalo na ng bigas… Ngayon after tumaas ang inflation, tataas na naman nag singil ng Meralco in the coming few days,” Gatchalian said during the Senate committee on energy hearing.

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(It’s surprising, because our consumers right now, our countrymen, are struggling to pay the high prices of goods, especially rice… Now after inflation has increased, Meralco will increase its charges again in the coming few days.)

READ: Meralco rates rise in October amid higher generation costs  

Gatchalian also pointed out that the Philippines has the second highest electricity rates in Southeast Asia behind Singapore. 

In addition, the senator flagged the high electricity costs in the Visayas and Mindanao despite the “perennial” yellow and red alerts, due to inter-region transmission lines that are not functioning properly.

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“Itong Visayas grid parating nasa yellow o red alert. Hindi na matigil-tigil ito… At hindi lang yellow and red alert, mataas din ang presyo na binabayaran nila in Visayas and Mindanao,” Gatchalian stressed. 

(This Visayas grid is always on yellow or red alert. It just keeps being like that… And it’s not just yellow and red alert, the electricity price they pay in Visayas and Mindanao is also high.)

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“Hindi natin pwedeng palampasin ito. We need to have concrete solutions. Dahil January pa ito eh. Magtatapos na ang taon, ganito pa rin situation natin,” he added.

(We can’t let this pass. We need to have concrete solutions. Because this has been going on since January. The year is coming to an end, and the situation is the same.)

READ: Higher September power bills seen in VisMin

Gatchalian asked the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to properly audit fuel pass-through charges, which adds power generators and distributor’s generation costs to electricity bills.

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He likewise asked that the DOE and ERC ensure the proper transmission between Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. /gsg