Senate takes up system loss charge: 'Electricity is not a luxury'

The Senate on Tuesday took up the bill removing the system loss charge in consumers’ electric bills during the session, with many senators backing the measure.

Senator Erwin Tulfo, the Committee on Energy Chair and the sponsor of Senate Bill 2486 or the proposed “System Loss Charge Removal Act”, said that for too long, Filipinos have been paying for electricity that they did not use.

“It is not a small amount. Nationwide, consumers shoulder billions of pesos a year in system loss charges. And until recently, consumers were also paying 12% Value Added Tax on top of that charge,” Tulfo said during the session.

“Electricity is not a luxury. It is a basic necessity that modern society needs to operate with dignity,” he added.

Tulfo said that instead of automatically allowing the systems loss charge to be passed to consumers, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will have to determine which coasts are product, reasonable and necessary. This would also prevent power firms from passing the systems loss charges through other fees.

“The bill also provides for a phased transition of up to three years, allowing the ERC to protect consumers while maintaining the reliability and viability of our distribution utilities,” Tulfo added.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian also supported the measure as a co-sponsor.

“Masusi po nating susubaybayan ang mga usapin tungkol sa panukalang ito sa plenaryo, at maaari po tayong magmungkahi ng karagdagang mga amyenda para sa proteksyon ng mga ordinaryong konsumer,” Gatchalian said.

(We will keenly observe the discussions about this measure here in the plenary, and we can legislate additional amendments to protect the ordinary consumer.)

Senator Joel Villanueva also co-sponsored the measure, calling it a simple but important bill.

“Every peso that is spared from an unjustified charge is a peso that can go back to food on the table, medicines, education, transportation, and livelihood. That is what fair billing means. That is what accountability in every electric bill should look like,” Villanueva said.

Meanwhile, Senator Bong Go said that if a family paid around P4,000 per month for electricity, P200 would go to systems loss. He said that this should not be the case.

“Marami po sa ating mga kababayan ang hindi alam itong system loss. Nandyan na po sa kanilang electric bill, binabayaran nila na hindi naman nila alam na nagbabayad sila nito. Napaka-unfair po nito lalong lalo na sa mga kababayan natin na hindi alam kung ano ba itong mga system loss na ito,” Go said.

Many of our citizens do not even know about the system loss. Their electricity bill is there and they pay for it without knowing what they are paying for. It is very unfair especially to our citizens who do not even know what they are paying for this system loss.)

Senator Bam Aquino also supported the bill, but proposed the removal of the VAT from the electric bill as well.

“This will redound to a discount or to a savings of 12% of our electricity bill. Maganda pong mapag-usapan rin po ito habang tinatalakay ang panukala ng pagtanggal ng systems loss (It would be good to talk about this while we are exploring the removal of the systems loss),” Aquino said.

The Senate suspended discussion of the bill to allow more time for the lawmakers to assess the measure.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. first made the call to remove the systems loss charge in the electricity bill during his fifth State of the Nation Address. Various government agencies have also sought ways to lower the bill, with the Bureau of Internal Revenue removing the VAT on the systems charge. — BM, GMA News