DOE eyes raising penalty for electric pilferage to P50K

The Department of Energy (DOE) is eyeing to raise the penalty for anyone who would steal electricity as the government works to scrap the system loss charges on electric bills.

"We are proposing na instead of P5,000 lang ang penalty sa Anti-Pilferage, gagawin siyang P50,000 (We are proposing that instead of P5,000 penalty for Anti-Pilferage, it will be increased to P50,000). Increase the penalties and there will be more coordination with other agencies," said Energy Secretary Sharon Garin in a press briefing on Monday.

"We are working with the PNP as well as DILG, and the LGUs, and the electric cooperatives to campaign and enforce the anti-pilferage measures that we have," she added.

Under the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994, electricity theft and meter tampering are punishable by imprisonment ranging from 6 to 12 years (prision mayor) and/or fines up to P20,000 for basic illegal connections.

System loss refers to electricity lost during distribution due to technical and non-technical factors.

Technical losses occur naturally as electricity travels through power lines and equipment, including transformers. Non-technical losses, meanwhile, include electricity theft, pilferage, and illegal connections such as the use of “jumpers.”

With that, the DOE urged the public to report suspected electricity theft and electrical safety hazards through the eGOVPH platform.

The DOE earlier proposed the removal of non-technical system loss charges from consumers’ electricity bills in phases.

In the proposed four-stage implementation of non-technical system loss removal, the DOE is aiming to beef up its anti-pilferage measures.

"Una is anti-pilferage enforcement. May mga households tayo na pumapayag na magpa-jumper. So we need to inform those consumers na kapag pumayag ka niyan, parang pinayagan mong magnakaw sa lahat ng consumers," said DOE Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra.

(First is anti-pilferage enforcement. We have households that allow illegal power connections (jumpers). So we need to inform those consumers that if you allow that, it's like allowing stealing from all consumers.)

The DOE is also eyeing to improve billing and collection efficiency.

"May mga lugar na hindi lahat nagbabayad kasi mahina 'yung collections. So we will strengthen that," said Guevarra.

(There are areas where not everyone pays because collections are weak. So we will strengthen that.)

When asked about the timeline for the gradual reduction of non-technical system loss charges, Garin said: "Rough estimate from our team is one year."

During his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called on both chambers of Congress to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to put a stop to system loss charges, including an accompanying value-added tax (VAT), from being passed on to consumers. —AOL, GMA News