Utilities discount eyed for senior citizens

MANILA, Philippines—Distribution utilities and electric cooperatives will soon be mandated to provide discounts and subsidies to senior citizens for the electricity they consume. This is in accordance with the Expanded Senior Citizens Act.

Francis Saturnino Juan, executive director of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), said the agency is now soliciting comments on the draft rules that the commission has issued for the computation of these discounts.

According to the draft rules, the discount will be applied to all qualified senior citizen end-users of distribution utilities, to be taken from the “subsidy to be paid by the non-senior citizen and non-qualified senior citizen end-users”.

Juan said the rules are aimed at providing transparency in the grant of senior citizen discounts and in the calculation of the subsidy rates, and at protecting the interest of the public which will be affected by the rates and services of distribution utilities.

The discounts will vary depending on the electricity consumption of the senior citizens. For example, for the first 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity consumption, a senior citizen can expect a 5-percent discount.

Juan said the cost of giving these discounts and subsidies to some seven million Filipinos who are 60 years old and above will have to be shouldered by the rest of the power consumers.

Distribution utilities and electric cooperatives that refuse to give such discounts will be penalized, according to the ERC.

The penalty for the first violation is a fine of not less than P50,000 but not exceeding P100,000, and any subsequent violation not less than P100,000 but not exceeding P200,000. In both cases, violators will also face imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than six years.

Any person who abuses the privilege will also be punished with a fine of not less P50,000 but not more than P100,000 and imprisonment of not less than six months.

According to Juan, the ERC plans to issue the final rules within six months. –Amy R. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer