Rules on power discounts for senior citizens out soon

POWER DISCOUNTS for senior citizens will finally push through as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) promises to pass final rules by this month.

ERC executive director Francis Saturnino C. Juan told BusinessWorld in a text message the final rules for the power discounts for senior citizens will be released by the second week of January.

“We will be issuing the final rules [for senior citizens’ power discount] no later than the second week of January,” said Mr. Juan in the text message.

He added “there is no more need for a third public consultation because we have already gathered the comments from stakeholders.”

Mr. Juan did not disclose possible contents of the rules for the power discounts for senior citizens.

Distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) could not be reached for a comment on the issue.

The final rules are expected to provide guidelines for distribution utilities to give a 5% discount to senior citizens who own their electric meters and do not exceed more than 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of consumption in a month. The rules are also expected to outline the planned subsidy for these discounts of non-senior citizen consumers.

Republic Act 9994 grants qualified senior citizens a 5% discount on electricity consumption, provided that “the individual meters for the foregoing utilities are registered in the name of the senior citizen residing therein; Provided, further, that the monthly consumption does not exceed one hundred kilowatt-hours (100 kWh) of electricity.”

The privilege is “granted per household, regardless of the number of senior citizens residing therein,” the law states.

The law also states that “At least fifty percent (50%) discount shall be granted on the consumption of electricity, water, and telephone by the senior citizens center and residential care/group homes that are government-run or nonstock, nonprofit domestic corporation organized and operated primarily for the purpose of promoting the well-being of abandoned, neglected, unattached, or homeless senior citizens.”

Non-senior citizens, however, will subsidize the cost of the discounts. Distribution utilities are also allowed in the second draft of rules “to determine the subsidy rate” of non-senior citizens. — Emilia Narni J. David, Businessworld