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By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, Reporter
MONTALBAN, Rizal: Congress is set to revisit a
number of bills amending the country’s power sector reform law,
including a proposal to scrap royalties on indigenous energy
sources, to lower Philippine electricity rates, which are the second
highest in Asia next to Japan.
On the sidelines of the Montalban Methane
Plant’s inauguration here, Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo, who
chairs the committee on energy, said the body will pursue a number
of proposed amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of
2001 (Epira). This is despite Congress’ earlier decision to drop a
proposal to amend a provision in the law that required the sale of
at least 70 percent of National Power Corp.’s (Napocor) prior to
the onset of an open-access scheme.
Industry players earlier filed a petition before
the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for an interim open access
scheme in response to such a move. Under an open-access scheme,
consumers may choose their suppliers, allowing them to tap the
least-cost providers.
“We’re very happy that distribution
utilities and generating companies have agreed to go into interim
voluntary open access and I believe the ERC has given them the
provisional authority to market their supply. For all intents and
purposes that’s it. This solves the problems specially for
industrial end-users,” the presidential son said.
Among the Epira provisions that the legislative
committee may seek to amend are the provision on system loss charges
of distribution utilities, generation charges of power companies,
and the royalties the government collects from indigenous sources of
energy like the Malampaya natural gas field.
Arroyo, however, said that any move to scrap or
even lower royalties must take into account what the government may
lose especially funds allotted for “pro-poor projects.”
“Because if we cut royalties, this will also
lower the national treasury’s [revenue take], which should be
given to pro-poor projects,” he said.
Richard Tantoco, First Gas vice president, said
that consumers are paying more than P2 per kilowatt-hour in
royalties and taxes on electricity produced from power plants using
natural gas from the Malampaya.
He said that with oil hovering at $130 a barrel,
removing these taxes will also help spur the search and development
of indigenous fuels from areas other than Malampaya. He said
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand hardly enjoy any royalty on
domestic sources of fuel sold in those countries.
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