The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered seventeen parties to respond to calls by Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) to suspend the implementation of FIT-All.
In filed Motions for Reconsideration by LKI in June and distribution company Manila Electric Company (Meralco) in May, the two parties requested that the implementation of the approved FIT-ALL rate for 2017 of P 0.2653/kwh be set aside and that the collection of the approved FIT-ALL be suspended or immediately stopped.
In a separate and earlier Petition for the Annulment of Judgment, LKI requested that the approved 2016 FIT ALL of P 0.1830 be reduced to P 0.1025 and order an immediate rollback of P 0.0805 per kWh.
The National Transmission Corporation (Transco) submitted their response on March 15, 2018 and LKI filed a reply on April 11, 2016.
The consumer group continues to express their alarm over the burden of FIT-All to electricity consumers. The suspensions of four ERC officials continue to hinder the consumer group’s petitions which has been pending in the past two years.
Founder and LKI President Atty. Dimagiba said that the lack of action on their petitions will further burden consumers as they will continue to be charged for FIT-All and higher power rates.
He added that consumers should not bear the burden of the suspension of the ERC officials.
“It should be a priority actions for the next incoming ERC commissioners, but we truly hope that they act on Fit-All and put a stop to it once and for all,” he said.
Meanwhile, the group lauded the results of a recent study conducted by the International Energy Consultants (IEC), which revealed that Meralco rates have gone down by 18 percent in the past six years, making the Philippines one of the cheapest in Asia excluding other markets’ use of subsidies and nuclear power generation.
However, the group also acknowledged that power rates could have been made lower if not for the subsidy.
“If we remove Fit-All from the electricity charges, our bills would be even lower and consumer welfare would be so much better,” the group said in a statement.
