The Energy Regulatory Commission’s decisive move to halt the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ practice of charging electricity consumers with the 3% franchise tax it is supposed to pay the government is a “BIG win for all power consumers.”
The practice has unduly burdened consumers for many years now and I laud and fully support ERC for upholding consumer welfare in its decision. This is also a reminder for enterprises of the need to play fair and maintain corporate integrity.
Once implemented, the decision would represent a decline of about P0.0135 to P0.0165 per kilowatt hour based on power rates in the first six months of the year in the Meralco franchise. This represents savings of P37.32 a year for households with average consumption of 200 kWh a month. I am confident that ERC will continue to thoroughly review industry practices with the goal of ensuring a balance of interests among stakeholders in the energy sector.
I will continue to advocate for policies that would ensure the sufficiency and affordability of energy supply and promote the welfare of our consumers.
