President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval of the extension of the no-disconnection policy to “lifeliners” or the low-income households gives a timely and much-needed relief following Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s appeal to the Energy Regulatory Commission and distribution utilities.
He said the President’s order indicated that Malacañang found merit in considering the move for the benefit of the unprivileged consumers.
“I do hope, however, that this policy will be maintained until the lifting of the general community quarantine,” said Gatchalian.
The financial struggle of the lifeline consumers, he said, might not end even after the public health crisis had been hurdled.
“But we have somehow helped ease their burden by ensuring their continuous electricity supply,” said Gatchalian.
Earlier, Senator Christopher Go has urged the utility company to show more compassion to their consumers following Meralco’s issuance of disconnection notices to some of its consumers who have not completely settled their bills after having been allowed to defer payment last year at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,
He also asked Meralco to study the possibility of extending their no-disconnection policy for underprivileged consumers.
Given the ongoing public health issue, Go also urged the government to look into the matter and prioritize the welfare of ordinary Filipinos by finding ways to avoid putting any additional burden on those who are already struggling to make ends meet.
Meralco’s no-disconnection policy was supposed to end on December 31 last year but was further extended until the end of January.
Vice-President and Head of Corporate Communications at Meralco, Joe Zaldarriaga, said that households consuming 201 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or more were asked to settle their unpaid bills last month, while those consuming 200 kWh and below were allowed to pay until the end of January.
Meanwhile, Assistant Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas, senior vice chair of the House Committee on Energy, thanked Duterte for extending the “no power disconnection policy” for “lifeliners” until the end of February, saying that this would greatly help poor families who already have to cope with high food prices.
“I wish to thank President Duterte for this concrete show of compassion towards poor Filipino families. This will be of great help to poor families having a hard time coping with the rising food prices,” Vargas said
“Lifeliners” are low-income households that consume only around 100 kilowatt-hours monthly. The government says that while around 32 percent of the customer base are lifeliners, they only account for 3 percent of electricity sales.
Vargas, chair of the House Committee on Social Services, said every peso that poor families could redirect towards buying food would go a long way, amid high food prices that had caused the country’s inflation rate in January to rise to 4.2 percent. The latest inflation figure is the highest since the 4.4 percent rate in January 2019.
Vargas had earlier filed a resolution urging the government to tackle the high cost of food by rolling out more Kadiwa rolling stores, among other measures. He also plans to meet with social welfare stakeholders to discuss the possibility of granting food subsidies to poor families.
Vargas also assured the President that Congress was working on his request to pass a measure extending the lifeline power rate subsidy mandated by Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
The Committee on Energy in October last year approved a consolidated bill that amends Section 73 of the EPIRA, which was set to expire in 2021.
The lawmaker said that under the bill, the lifeline subsidy would be extended by 20 more years or until 2041.
The Senate’s counterpart measure proposes an extension of 10 years.
“We will appeal to the House leadership to have the lifeline subsidy extension bill tackled and approved immediately,” said Vargas.
