Rep. Maza hits Meralco rate hikes; asserts junking of EPIRA and Arroyo bets

Nacionalista-Makabayan senatorial candidate Rep. Liza Maza denounced the power rate hike implemented this April by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) as she urged voters to junk Arroyo's Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and electoral bets.

"Sobra-sobrang pahirap na ito sa mga konsyumer samantalang kapos ang mga trabaho at hindi naman itinataas ang mga sahod at sweldo," Maza said.

"Iyan ang resulta ng pagsasapribado ng industriya na ginawa sa EPIRA sa ilalim ni Macapagal-Arroyo na masugid naming ipinatupad ni Sec. Angelo Reyes bilang kalihim ng Department of Energy at at kanyang anak na si Mikey Arroyo na Chair ng House Committee on Energy - kapwa kapal-mukhang tumatakbo pa sa mga pekeng party-list na 1-UTAK at Ang Galing Pinoy," Maza added.

Meralco holds the electric distribution franchise area where 23 million people reside, with 4.6 million customers in 29 cities and 82 municipalities. The P0.93 per kWh hike in generation charge announced by Meralco increased electricity bills to P6.7699 per kWh this April, from last month’s P5.8417 per kWh. Meralco also re-implemented this month its P1.4917 per kWh distribution charge, which resulted in an additional P0.27 per kWh because it came from deferment in the February and March billing cycles.

Meralco’s April bill reflected rate increases in two components — generation or power from suppliers and distribution or price of Meralco’s delivery of electricity. The generation rate, which accounts for more than half of the electricity bill, has gone up by 93 centavos to a record P6.7699 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) from P5.8417/kwh in the March billing, which was in turn 91 centavos higher than the P4.9303/kwh charged in February.
Maza debunked Meralco claims that the increase was due to bigger demand and lower supply this summer.

"It is the wanton greed for private profit of electric companies, both in generation and distribution charges, that spurred the price increases. Government taxes on utilities also added an onerous burden to the impoverished mass of consumers," Maza said.

Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), sought to spur competition and efficiency in the power sector by allowing power firms to directly negotiate with potential buyers (mostly large scale users of electricity) through an open access environment.

"We urge voters in Meralco franchise areas to junk EPIRA and junk Arroyo and her fake party-lists and nominees," Maza said. ###