Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the Energy Regulatory Commission's (ERC) inaction and delayed rate review are causing confusion and misinformation and often result in higher electricity rates.
Rodriguez faults the ERC for the challenging rate-setting process of Meralco and other power distributors in the country.
"We found the root cause of the high rate issues hounding Meralco, and it is indeed regulatory inaction which already caused so much unnecessary noise, precisely because of the highly technical nature and of electricity rates," Rep. Rodriguez said.
"As the regulator, it ultimately has the huge responsibility to ensure timely implementation of rate review and approval as this assures customers that the rates they are paying are fair and reasonable," he added.
The ERC recently ruled with finality on Meralco's rate application for the Lapsed Period—or from 2015 to 2022—when there was no completed rate reset, not just for Meralco but also for other distributors.
Customers of Meralco already benefitted from the close to P50 billion refund, which was triggered by Meralco's initiative to have its rates reviewed despite the absence of rules and rate resets for about seven years.
"The recent ruling of the majority of the ERC commissioners is a win for consumers as this paves the way for the regulatory body on other rate applications by other distribution utilities pending before them that will likely result in refunds to consumers, and similarly allow ERC to proceed with the rate reset process," Rodriguez said.
He added that the ERC exercised its quasi-judicial rate-setting power to fix the problem without Meralco's rate review.
The lawmaker also criticized the dissenting opinion on the decision and asked all ERC commissioners to always consider the impact of their delayed actions and inaction on distribution utilities like Meralco and paying consumers.
"The ERC should always keep in mind its mandate to deliver timely and value-driven public service by ensuring a working and stable regulatory environment," Rodriguez concluded.