ERC: Removing nontechnical system loss charges from power bills feasible

MANILA, Philippines — Amid ongoing discussions on how the government can remove system loss charges from consumers’ electricity bills, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Thursday said eliminating at least nontechnical loss would be feasible.

The ERC laid out this possibility during a Senate energy panel hearing when committee chair Sen. Erwin Tulfo directly asked the commission if removing nontechnical system loss would be viable, especially as energy companies continue to oppose removing system loss altogether.

Nontechnical system loss refers to electricity distributed properly accounted for due to human error, meter tampering or theft.

READ: DOE: Scrapping ‘system loss’ charge may take a year

“Yes. As far as the nontechnical system loss component is concerned, we have seen the current performance of our distribution utilities, with the rate now at around 1 percent. If we further adjust the allowable cap for nontechnical system losses, they will be able to comply,” said ERC chair Francis Saturnino Juan.

Juan then explained that electric distributors would also have to only adjust their tariff to be able to afford anti-pilferage measures without incurring the costs to consumers.

“So that cost, assuming there is still some nontechnical system loss remaining on their part, will not be significant enough to affect their viability,” he said.

However, Juan said that should nontechnical system loss be disallowed, the government should consider providing electric companies and distributors the “appropriate capacity” to effectively address theft or other nontechnical system losses through an allowance in their tariff.

“So that they will truly be able to minimize whatever costs they may be forced to absorb,” he said.

Revise Anti-Pilferage Law

Department of Energy Undersecretary Riolita Inocencio, for her part, shared Juan’s sentiments, stating that distribution utilities (DUs) and electric cooperatives (ECs) will have to be assisted in the prevention of theft — particularly through law enforcement.

This, said Inocencio, would also require the revision of the Anti-Pilferage Law, the measure that penalizes the theft of electricity and electric power transmission lines.

“One of our requests to the body is for the revision of the Anti-Pilferage Law where we have listed down possible additional prima facie evidence of illegal connections which will give the DUs and the ECs more instances where they can request assistance of law enforcement,” said Inocencio.

“[This would] make it easier for them to actually minimize their systems so that they don’t have to carry as much burden as may be required of by the law that we’re going to pass,” she added. /das