Power consumers worse off, says Bayan

Power consumers are worse off now than they were 10 years ago as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) has failed to lower electricity rates and reduce the staggering debts of state-run National Power Corp., according to the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).

The group pointed out these alleged failures to mark the 10th anniversary today (Wednesday) of the signing of the Epira law.

In a statement, Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. noted that the average power rates of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) more than doubled during the past decade.

From P4.87 per kilowatt-hour in 2000, the average generation rate rose to P10.35 per kWh.

The same is true for Napocor’s generation rates, which have almost doubled since the Epira was implemented, Bayan said.

The average rate in 2000 was P2.39 per kWh, compared with P4.67 per kWh as of 2010.

“Epira legitimized the ‘purchased power adjustment’ or the PPA that consumers protested in 2001. This cost represented electricity that was not used or delivered but had to be paid for by the consumers because of contracts with independent power producers. This item was embedded in the new charges that resulted from the unbundling of rates,” Reyes explained.

Reyes said new charges were also introduced because of the Epira such as the universal charge, which was a mechanism put in place to recover Napocor’s debts.

Proponents of Epira earlier argued that privatization would solve the financial woes of Napocor, which was burdened by $16.39 billion in debts as of 2001.

The liabilities of Napocor, however, increased significantly after the enactment of the Epira because of commitments and obligations to sustain its operations.

As such, even if the government, through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., managed to pay $18 billion over the past 10 years, Napocor debts remained at a staggering $15.821 billion as of end 2010.

From 2001 to 2010, Napocor accumulated $12 billion in new debts. Of the $12 billion, 73 percent represented operational losses while the commissioning of new IPP plants accounted for the remaining 27 percent.