DAVAO CITY – Senior Deputy Minority Leader Neri Colmenares today welcomed Meralco’s announcement of a P0.58/KwH decrease in electricity rates this June saying it is the “people’s vigilance that keeps power rates in check.”
Colmenares said the consumers will be able to save P116 – P200 in their monthly bill with the rollback.
“The decrease was brought about by the people’s active monitoring of electricity rates and the Supreme Court’s support to the petition we filed which insisted that Meralco should stop its practice of sourcing its energy supply from expensive supply from the Wholesale Electricity Stock Market (WESM) and instead source it through cheap supply contract. The Supreme Court criticized Meralco for this practice during the oral arguments on our petition,” said Colmenares.
Colmenares said public utilities like electricity must be subsidized by government “not only as a means to save the people from expensive electricity cost but also stave off high prices of goods every time electricity rates increase.”
Colmenares also reiterated their call to repeal Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and abolish the WESM.
