Law extending power rates for poor a ‘shoo-in’ on Duterte’s legislative legacy list – Velasco

MANILA, Philippines — The newly signed law extending the “lifeline rate” or the subsidized electricity rate for low-income households for 30 years is “a shoo-in to make the Duterte administration’s best legislative legacy list,” Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said Tuesday.

On May 27, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law a measure amending the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Epira) so that it would extend the socialized pricing mechanism or electricity lifeline rates for the poor.

“This important legislation would assure Filipinos access to continuous and affordable electricity, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where many people are struggling to make ends meet,” Velasco said in a statement.

Velasco, who pushed for the measure in the House of Representatives when he chaired the Committee on energy, thanked Duterte for signing the measure into law.

He said  5.5 million lifeline rate consumers, representing about 31% of the entire connections in the country, would benefit from the new law.

Under Epira, the lifeline rate provision is set to expire on June 26 this year. The new law extends it for the second time.

The lifeline subsidy, given to households consuming not more than 100-kilowatt-hour or less per month, was first approved for 10 years under Republic Act No. 9136 in 2001. It was extended for another 10 years under Republic Act 10150 in 2011.

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