Lower power bills seen to greet 4Ps consumers in ’24

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday called on beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to register in the government’s lifeline electricity rate program to avail of discounts on their electricity bills in the coming year.

“This news is a timely Christmas gift for our countrymen who are facing the most hardships in life as the government is set to expand coverage of the power subsidy in 2024,” he said in a statement.

Gatchalian, vice chair of the Senate committee on energy and author of Republic Act No. 11552, which “extends and enhances” the law on the lifeline rate for electricity consumers, said he sought the passage of the law to allow more 4Ps beneficiaries to enlist in and benefit from the program.

He noted that the tripartite body, composed of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and, the Department of Energy and Energy Regulatory Commission, had earlier delayed the implementation of the new lifeline rate program from September 2023 to January 2024.

Under the revised law, beneficiaries who consume less than 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month can avail of the lifeline rate subsidy.

The lifeline rate program covers households that are unable to pay their bills, including beneficiaries of 4Ps or customers considered to be living below the poverty threshold set by the Philippine Statistics Authority, Gatchalian said.

He said that for those living within the Manila Electric Company franchise area, the subsidy could range between 20 to 100 percent depending on how much electricity they consume.

READ:  Gov’t to launch Lifeline Rate power subsidy program in September