CALLS for the reduction in the consumption of electricity have repeatedly failed not because we, the taxpaying public, are stubborn, but because of the selective policy which effectively exempts the government offices from doing what should be a collective effort.
For one, Filipinos are all too familiar with the high cost of living which is best checked with a parallel imposition of salary rates if only to adapt to inflation that is commonly used as an alibi in asking for an adjustment seen to make life harder for ordinary families.
According to the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), the Philippines is just a notch down from becoming the Southeast Asian country with the highest power rates.
So why are power rates going up? According to economists, power rates rise when demand goes high – the law of supply and demand.
Some tend to say the increase is due to higher fuel prices and the depreciation of the Philippine Peso against the dollar.
Data from January 2022 had the country’s electricity prices standing at P 9.86 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while Singapore is at Php 10.15/kWh. Meanwhile, Malaysia has the lowest price in the region at Php 1.42/kWh.
Earlier, the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) announced that the electricity bill this month would see a price increase as a regular household that consumes 200 kWh would witness a Php 100 increase in their bill due to the generation charge amounting to Php 11.40 per kWh.
However, ICSC chief data scientist Jephraim Manansala said that generation charges only account for 55% of the monthly bills we get to pay. The rest are just add-on charges for which consumer groups have long been asking the government to hold.
With an impending power crisis as espoused during a forum jointly organized by the Department of Energy and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an Energy official cited the urgent need for the LGUs to implement energy-efficient measures in an effort to make a significant impact on energy demand nationwide.
Let’s just hope that the government is sincere this time in taking the lead by holding Meralco criminally accountable for charging its subscribers more than what has been consumed.
Relatedly, government officials should be held liable for non-compliance.
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