PEZA to start registration of DUs up for special ecozone rates

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority on Wednesday said it will start the registration of distribution utilities qualified to avail of special reduced power rates within the country’s ecozones, on Sept. 25 this year. Speaking at the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Briefing and Infrastructure Forum, PEZA director general Lilia de Lima said they have already issued the guidelines on the lowered rates over the weekend. “Last Sunday, we have already published the guidelines and it will be effective 15 days after or by Sept. 25," de Lima said. The official said the guidelines would direct DUs to register with PEZA so they would avail of the special rates. However, not all power utilities within ecozones could be accredited. Once accredited with PEZA, these DUs could start enjoying the more than P1 per kilowatthour (kWh) drop in their rates. De Lima said Meralco and other industry players have signified interest to lower their rates. “The idea is to lower the cost of power. We have the same objective. So we expect the industry players to cooperate," she said. According to de Lima, all the stakeholders were consulted before they release the guidelines so they do not expect any conflict with existing DUs such as Meralco. “We had been in consultation with industry stakeholders and Meralco was part of the technical working group," de Lima said. - GMANews.TV