Various non-government organizations on Friday called for the “overhauling” of the Electric and Power Industry Reform Act to lower the cost of power, instead of passing the “Murang Kuryente” bill.
At a news conference in Quezon City, Manjette Lopez of Freedom from Debt Coalition, along with Gerry Arances of Center for Energy, Ecology and Development, said energy reforms are not enough without the removal of pass-on provisions in the Epira law.
Last Tuesday, the House committee on energy, chaired by Marinduque Rep. Lord Jay Velasco, unanimously passed the substitute bill on second reading seeking to allocate the net national government share from the Malampaya natural gas project to pay the stranded debts and the stranded contract costs of the National Power Corp. and other exploration projects to develop energy resources and lower electricity rates.
FDC, CEED, Sanlakas, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice and Oriang Women’s Movement belonged to the Power for People (P4P) Coalition.