Around 2.8 million lifeline power users, representing about 40 percent of Manila Electric Co.’s customers, received nearly P4 billion in discounts in 2019.
Meralco head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said during a Senate hearing on the lifeline rate extension that 60 percent of Meralco customers subsidized the lifeline rate users and paid nearly P0.09 per kilowatt-hour last year. Lifeline customers are those consuming 100 kWh and below monthly.
“Subsidizing customers account for the remaining 60 percent of Meralco’s customer base and, in 2019, paid an average of around P0.088 per kWh as an add-on to their bills to fund the P4 billion discount to lifeliners. It may be noted that the lifeline subsidy add-on is subject to a 12-percent VAT,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said lifeline customers or marginalized consumers needed support because they could not afford to pay the full cost of electric service. “Hence, there was the initial extension of the lifeline subsidy scheme. There had also been proposals to increase the discount to certain lifeline customers,” he said.