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Friday, March 29, 2024

Meralco franchise can be revoked despite 2028 expiration – solon

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HOUSE Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta has urged Congress to review Manila Electric Company’s franchise amid the continued power rate hikes.

In a recent privilege speech, Marcoleta cited the need for a congressional review of Meralco’s franchise despite its 2028 expiration.

“Ngayon pa lang, Mr. Speaker, ay dapat na nating suriin ang prangkisa ng Meralco na alam kong may bisa pa hanggang 2028. Hindi naman kailangan na hintayin pa nating mag-expire ang kanilang prangkisa dahil maaari itong ipawalang-bisa o kanselahin ng Kongreso kapag nagkaroon ng paglabag sa alinmang termino o probisyon sa batas ng kanilang prangkisa— ang Republic Act 9209,” stressed the solon.
 

Marcoleta cited Section 4 of the power distributor’s franchise, which states, “The grantee (Meralco) shall supply electricity to its captive market in the least cost manner. The grantee shall charge reasonable, just, and competitive power rate for its services to all types of consumers within its franchise area in order that businesses and industries shall be able to compete.”

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The lawmaker said the high cost of electricity has long been a heavy burden on citizens and should end amid the pandemic which continues to affect the country.

Marcoleta cited the need to amend Section 10 of  RA 7832 and do away with the so-called ‘system loss’, saying that consumers should not be faulted and charged for power thefts or losses. 

“Ito po ay tinatawag na ‘element of risks’ na alam na alam naman po ng mga kompanya na may kinalaman sa negosyo ng koryente. Ang ‘system loss’ ay dapat balikatin ng kompanya ng koryente — hindi po ng mga konsyumer,”  explained the lawmaker.

He also stressed that scrapping the system loss provision won’t affect Meralco, as it has a yearly net income of almost P23 billion.

“Maliit na kurot lamang po ito, Mr. Speaker, kung ikukumpara sa napakalaking tinutubo ng Meralco,” he added.

Marcoleta also suggested the removal of the local franchise tax from electricity bills, saying the basis for passing its payment on to consumers is not justified.

“The franchise tax is computed from the aggregated total of generation, transmission, and distribution charges already paid by the consumers, in addition to system loss, metering charges, subsidies, and current property tax. Seventy five percent of the total cost of these component charges is shouldered by the consumers and, the distribution utility that owns and applied for the local franchise pays only 25%. Hindi po makatarungan ito.”

Marcoleta also urged the Commission on Audit (COA) to audit Meralco’s books due to the seeming discrepancies in the energy generation supply purchases of Meralco as reported to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the consumers, when compared to the purchase power it declared in its financial report.

“While these discrepancies may yield to several conclusions, the bottom line suggests that the consumers are overcharged in billions of pesos annually based on our preliminary findings covering the last several years,” said Marcoleta.

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