Senior citizens to get 5% discount on power bills

MANILA, Philippines – Starting this month, senior citizens will enjoy a five-percent discount on their electricity bills, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said yesterday.

ERC, the country’s power sector watchdog, has issued a new set of rules granting a special discount to senior citizens who consume 100 kilowatthours (kWh) or less of electricity.

ERC executive director Francis Saturnino Juan said the new rules will take effect after 15 days of publication.

“We are targeting to publish the new rules within this week or early next week,” Juan said.

In August last year, the ERC started holding public consultations on the grant of senior citizen discounts, calculation of the subsidy rates, and protecting the interest of the public which will be affected by the rates and services of the distribution utilities.

R.A. 9994 grants qualified senior citizens a five-percent discount on electricity consumption provided that the installed electric meter is registered under the name of the senior citizen and that the monthly electricity consumption does not exceed 100 kWh.

The law also provides that the government institutions or non-stock, non-profit domestic organizations caring for senior citizens shall be entitled to 50-percent discount on their electricity bill.

The law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR), which took effect on July 6, 2010, directed ERC to come up with a set of supplemental guidelines within six months. –Donnabelle L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star)