Bayan: 10 years after, EPIRA unable to lower power cost

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), a militant group said EPIRA has done the opposite of its promise to lower electricity rates, among other things. “The promise then was that EPIRA would bring down power rates and ease the financial burdens of the cash-strapped Napocor. Neither of these happened and consumers are worse off now than they were 10 years ago," Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said on Bayan’s website Tuesday. Reyes added that the average power rates of Manila Electric Co. rose by more than twice after EPIRA was signed. He explained that power rates in 2000, at P4.87 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), more than doubled to P10.35 per kWh in 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 added. “Simply put, we no longer see a separate PPA item in our bill because this is now part of the generation and transmission costs. This has driven power rates through the roof," the militant leader added. Privatization won’t ease Napocor woes Bayan also said privatization will not solve the problems of state-owned Napocor, as EPIRA proponents claim. Napocor’s debt stood at $16.39 billion, and the government paid some $18 billion or more than the original debt over a 10-year period, according to Bayan. “The difference between the 2001 debt and the current debt stands at only $570 million. It means that after paying $18 billion over the past 10 years, Napocor remains mired in debt. This is because over the past 10 years, Napocor continued to borrow to pay for its financial obligations as a result of onerous IPP contracts," Reyes said. Bayan added that from 2001 to 2010, Napocor accumulated new debts of $12 billion on top of its $16.39-billion pre-EPIRA debt. Last month, the state-run Power Sectors Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) belittled claims of mismanagement of Napocor debts, saying it has already paid creditors some $18 billion. The Senate Committee on Energy had also proposed to revamp the criteria for identifying lifeline beneficiaries under EPIRA. — Paterno Esmaquel II/VS, GMA News