Consumer groups, firms back call for Epira review

President Marcos’ call for Congress to review the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. (Epira) has gained support from consumer welfare advocates and other stakeholders amid power issues that continue to haunt Filipino consumers.

The People for Power Coalition (P4P) welcomed the Chief Executive’s recognition of problems in the sector, but said a “comprehensive” review of the country’s key law on electricity has been “long overdue.”

During his third State of the Nation Address, Marcos urged both chambers of the legislature to determine if the law needed revisions to improve the local power sector.

Enacted in 2001, Epira seeks to ensure competitive rates in the power market.

However, when asked, P4P did not point out which provisions of the law needed to be amended. Instead, the group stressed “the urgency of an ambitious shift to renewable energy for clean, affordable, and reliable energy for all Filipinos.”

Another consumer group, Partners for Affordable & Reliable Energy or PARE, also backed a possible move of Congress to review the Epira.

PARE hopes to see reforms related to the improvement in the management of electric and telecommunications lines to address issues on efficiency and safety as well as a ban on cross-ownership among distribution utilities and power generation companies.

It is also pushing for reforms on strengthening the regulatory powers of the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulation Commission in terms of protecting consumers’ rights; and fair and competitive bidding processes by requiring representation from an ERC-accredited consumer group during auctions.

Nic Satur Jr., chief advocate officer of PARE, earlier said that a review of Epira is needed to determine what reforms should be pursued to resolve issues such as the high cost of electricity as well as “consistent power outages.”

“While EPIRA was envisioned as the solution to end all energy issues back then, that vision has not turned into reality,” Satur said. “Therefore, reforms are needed now to enhance the law and bring a better quality of life to Filipinos.”

Jose Layug Jr., president of Developers of Renewable Energy for Advancement Inc., also voiced his support for the planned review of Epira.

“If necessary, we will support any amendment of EPIRA that is geared towards the same goal to achieve optimal cost of power,” Layug said in a message sent to the Inquirer.

Meanwhile, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Aboitiz Power Corp. both backed the Marcos administration’s efforts to address rising power costs and to ensure that consumers have secure and reliable electricity systems.

“We will continue to advance programs in coordination with the government in order to help us achieve stable, reliable and competitively priced electricity that will benefit electricity end-users and drive the country’s economic growth,” Meralco said Tuesday.

AboitizPower also highlighted the need to have a balanced power generation mix, which includes renewable energy sources.

“Like the President, the company [we] welcomes the significant progress in transmission infrastructure in the past year, as this will unlock capacity that is meant to meet the requirements of demand centers, hence propelling the economy forward,” it added. INQ