A newly formed citizens’ organization has called on authorities to review the steep rise in electricity rates imposed by the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (ORMECO), which has run up bills to as high as P18 per kilowatt-hour, with warnings that this could climb further to P21/kWh.
CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — A newly formed citizens’ organization has called on authorities to review the steep rise in electricity rates imposed by the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (ORMECO), which has run up bills to as high as P18 per kilowatt-hour, with warnings this could climb further to P21/kWh.
In a statement on Monday, the Mindoro Consumers Coalition (MCC) said the rate increase has become an unbearable burden for households already struggling with rising commodity prices and ongoing economic pressures.
The group explained that the surge stems from the loss of national subsidies under the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UCME) — a P30-billion annual fund managed by the National Power Corporation (NPC) through its Strategic Power Utility Group (SPUG), intended for island provinces not yet connected to the main Luzon Grid, including Mindoro, Romblon and Palawan. These subsidies are mandated under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.
