President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the extension of the “no disconnection” policy for customers of “lifeliners’ that consume less than 200 kilowatt hours monthly, Malacañang said Thursday.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the President “readily agreed” to the proposal to extend the “no disconnection” policy for low-income households that cannot afford to settle their electricity bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was among the recommendations by the Department of Energy approved by the President during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Nograles said.
“Lifeliners comprise 32 percent of the customer base, but they only account for 3 percent of electricity sales. So this is very doable,” Nograles said.
Duterte also urged Congress to extend the subsidy for marginalized power consumers for 30 years or from 2021 to 2051, according to Nograles.
This was previously amended by Congress. They extended the benefits of lifeliners from 2011 to 2021. But now, the President is asking Congress to extend the lifeliners’ benefits from 2021 to 2051.
The Malacañang official was referring to Republic Act No. 10150, which extended the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 until 2021.
