Marcos urged to extend suspension of pass-through charges to electricity bills

MANILA, Philippines — A consumer advocacy group asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to halt the imposition of pass-through charges on electricity bills, aligning with his recent decision to suspend pass-through fees levied by local government units on motor vehicles carrying goods or merchandise.

Executive Order 41, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on behalf of Marcos, aims to streamline the flow of goods between regions and contribute to reducing food and commodity prices.

Pass-through charges in electricity bills, on the other hand, happen when the price set by electricity generation companies (gencos) differs from the actual cost due to changing fuel prices. Consumers have to cover the additional costs, caused by the unpredictable nature of fossil fuel prices influenced by global factors.

Gerry Arances, Power for People Coalition (P4P) convenor, compared the pass-through fees on electriciy bills to tolls on roads. 

“Pass-through charges on electricity bills are just as ridiculous as pass-through charges on roads. Both charges are borne by the consumer while the service they pay for is not improved at all," said Arances in a statement released on Sunday.

P4P has consistently opposed the pass-through fees, saying they unfairly make consumers pay for the gencos' choice of expensive fuels.

“In other businesses, the company bears the responsibility for paying for their choice of suppliers. They have to balance their profit with their costs because consumers might no longer patronize them if their goods become too expensive," Arances said.

"But in the electricity market, where you have a captive market, companies are not just assured of having customers, they are also assured of profits even if consumers were never consulted if they wanted their electricity to come from these companies in the first place,” he added.

The consumer advocate said renewable energy does not have these extra charges but the current system encourages gencos to stick with fossil fuels, which are bad for the environment and make electricity more expensive.

"Just like pass-through charges on roads, high electricity prices have increased costs of doing business in the country, not to mention created misery for ordinary Filipinos - thus running contrary to the first of Marcos's 8-point socioeconomic of improving the purchasing power of Filipinos," Arances said.

"It is high time these charges are suspended and ultimately abolished,” he added.