Members of the Senate committee on energy have agreed to impose a P6 per kilowatt-hour ceiling on power rate increases, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Sunday.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Gatchalian, chairman of the energy panel, a cap on power rate increases was among the policies his committee agreed upon, after holding hearings on the country’s power supply situation.
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During last week’s hearing, Gatchalian said, the senators said a lack of policies was the cause of the problems hounding the energy sector.
Gatchalian said the committee also ordered the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to investigate power generation companies for possible collusion after a series of plant shutdowns caused power interruptions in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The energy committee supported the construction of more power plants, raising the penalties for unreliable power suppliers and better regulation to ensure a sufficient supply of electricity.
Also on Sunday, the state weather bureau reported that the water level in Angat Dam, Bulacan, dipped below its critical level.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Angat Dam’s water level plunged to 179.97 meters, below the minimum level required for normal operations.
Despite this, the weather bureau said water supply for the two private water concessionaires of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System would not be affected.
The decrease in the amount of rainfall due to the El Niño phenomenon and high water needs of residents in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces have been blamed for the water shortage since March, it said.
Pagasa recently said El Niño is forecast to stay until June, and not until May as earlier predicted.
Angat Dam provides 97 percent of Metro Manila’s supply of potable water.
Last week, the National Water Resources Board said the dam’s water elevation could dip to as low as 173.13 meters by end of May.
The dam’s minimum operating level is at 180 meters.
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