Senator Win Gatchalian on Thursday said the bicameral conference committee had approved the proposed Murang Kuryente law that would lower electricity rates by as much as P1 per kilowatthour and would benefit 16 million households.
The Murang Kuryente measure will specifically remove the Stranded Contract Cost (UC-SCC) and Stranded Debts (UC-SD) under the universal charge.
This is because the cost of these items will now be paid out of 60 to 70 percent of the P204-billion Malampaya fund.
The Malampaya fund is the gas money for the government sourced from payments of oil companies Caltex and Shell for extracting natural gas in Malampaya oil field in Palawan province.
Gatchalian said this would mean that for a household which consumes 200 kWh per month, they would be able to save P170 per month which is worth four kilos of rice.
He said the Malampaya natural gas plant was expected to earn P22 billion this year and again in 2020, which should just be enough to cover for the debts of National Power Corp. and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.—which stands at P466 billion—on a staggered basis.
“The Malampaya fund is intact. Our estimate there would still be P100 billion left after paying the debts of Napocor and Psalm,” he said.
Besides, he said the last time the Malampaya fund was used, it was used for fertilizer fund, farm-to-market roads…projects which are not energy-related,” said Gatchalian as he expressed hope that this could be sustained.
He said the bill would lower the universal charge by using part of the Malampaya fund to pay the debts incurred by the Napocor and Psalm.
Likewise, the Murang Kuryente bill provides that the remainder of the Malampaya fund should be spent on energy-related projects.
The bill, however, would not be immediately ready for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature into law since Congress cannot ratify the approved bicameral conference report since the Senate and the House of Representatives are not in session due to campaign period for the 2019 midterm polls.
