During his third State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for the review of Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), in an attempt to bring down the cost of electricity in the country.
Marcos Jr. said the law must be revisited to determine whether the current energy policies are still applicable for the present time or if amendments are necessary.
Enacted in 2001, EPIRA provides the framework for the restructuring of the country’s electric power industry to ensure consumer protection and allow enhanced competition for subsectors such as generation, transmission, and distribution.
According to Power for People Coalition convenor Gerry Arances, the comprehensive review of EPIRA is indeed long overdue. “Addressing the blatant disregard for consumers’ welfare in the sources of power we use and in the way our power sector is governed, alongside undue preservation of corporate interests, is of utmost urgency,” he said.
However, Arances also expressed concern over the President’s lack of concrete plans for “real change,” stressing that Marcos Jr. could not simply mention the frequent power outages without identifying the coal and gas facilities that were primarily responsible.
EPIRA has received a lot of criticism for its ineffectiveness in reducing retail power rates, as more than two decades after becoming law, Filipinos still pay among the highest prices for power in the region, if not the globe. Given that much time to make a positive difference, perhaps a long overdue review would be the least our government could do.
Given that so much has already changed over the past two decades, there should be a few improvements that experts, both in government and the private sector, should be able to squeeze out of EPIRA. Or if we are feeling ambitious, we could even consider revolutionizing the power sector that should’ve been the engine that drives progress and development, instead of being a burden that the Filipino people still have to bear.*
