Former Senate president Francis “Chiz” Escudero. Photo courtesy of PNA.
Reflecting on how paying consumers are saddled with passed on charges from systems loss added to high power rates, Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero is looking towards require power companies to absorb the costs in order to ease the burden on the consuming public.
To this end, Escudero has filed a bill that would stop distribution utilities from passing system loss charges on to electricity consumers and require power companies to pay for the costs themselves.
In a news release, he disclosed thzt his proposed measure under Senate Bill No. 2345 would amend Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, which currently allows utilities to recover a regulated portion of electricity lost during distribution.
The senator filed the bill after President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. issued a directive asking for the removal of system loss charges during his 5th State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on July 27.
In support, Escudero enthused that “consumers should pay only for the electricity they actually consume.”
System losses include technical losses arising from the delivery of electricity through power lines and equipment, as well as non-technical losses caused by pilferage and unauthorized connections.
Escudero reasoned in filing SB 2345 that consumers neither control the condition of distribution systems nor contribute to losses resulting from inefficient operations, outdated infrastructure or electricity theft.
Under his proposed amendment, utilities would no longer be allowed to recover from end-users the costs linked to technical inefficiencies or pilferage.
Escudero noted that the existing policy was adopted to recognize the operational realities of electricity distribution but he added that its continued application had become “increasingly difficult to justify.”
He also rationalized that making utilities absorb such losses would push them to modernize their systems, strengthen anti-pilferage efforts and operate more efficiently.
“In so doing, it promotes fairness in electricity pricing and encourages greater operational efficiency,” he asserted.
