Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on email
Email

Consumer group calls for price monitoring

Wennie Sancho, president of the Alliance of Concerned Consumers in Electricity and Social Services (ACCESS), is calling for the creation of Energy Price Monitoring Councils (EPMC) at the national and local levels, through the passage of a law or an executive order.

Sancho said this is in order to address the economic woes of the electricity household consumers with the primary purpose of protecting them to ensure that prices of electricity are just and reasonable.

A National Energy Price Monitoring Council (NPMC) shall prod the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), to reassess the power generation charges, to ensure that they are just and reasonable, while the Local Energy Price Monitoring Council, shall collaborate with LGUs to ensure sustained support and progress towards addressing the issue of high electricity costs, his statement said.

Moreover, the ERC should ensure that power generation charges should be transparent and it should intensify its monitoring of power generation companies to prevent abuse of market power and ensure compliance of regulatory requirements, Sancho said.

The mandate of the national and local EPMC in coordination with the distribution utilities (DUs) and LGUs is to monitor and review the prices of electricity in their respective areas to ensure that they are just and reasonable, including analyzing price movements in the local electricity markets and to investigate complaints of price manipulation or gaming the power market and to ensure compliance with existing laws and regulations, the press release said.

Sancho said he will submit a proposal for the creation of the Energy Price Monitoring Councils to the national and local level. This will require coordinated efforts in order to protect the consumers and the DUs from further increases in the prices of electricity in the midst of economic downturn due to inflation and high cost of living.*

ARCHIVES

Read Article by date

February 2025
MTWTFSS
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
2425262728 
MORE STORIES

Get your copy of the Visayan Daily Star everyday!

Avail of the FREE 30-day trial.