Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing for the extension of lifeline rate subsidies for 20 more years in order to provide continuous relief to marginalized households, or those who consume 100 kilowatt-hours or less of monthly electricity.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, filed Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1583, which seeks to further amend Section 73 of Republic Act 9136, or the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), as amended by Republic Act. No. 10150 or an act extending the implementation of the lifeline rate.
“The spirit of this measure is to really cushion the blow of power-rate increases to marginalized households who cannot afford to pay the full cost of their electricity bill. We already made strides in breaking that barrier to access electricity through the lifeline-rate subsidies and there’s no turning back now,” Gatchalian said.
