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Taken during a press conference with Philreca president and Zamsureco-1 GM Jose Raul Saniel, who explained the effects of the total scrapping of system loss charges on electricity bills without government subsidies. —Photo by Leah D. Agonoy
PAGADIAN CITY, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR, Philippines — Power distribution cooperatives across the country are pushing back against the proposed scrapping of system loss charges as a component of electricity bills, unless the national government takes on the cost through subsidies.
Simply scrapping the charges could cripple rural electrification and drag down local economies, warned Jose Raul Saniel, general manager of Zamboanga del Sur 1 Electric Cooperative (Zamsureco-1) and president of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca).
Abolishing the charges without a safety net, Saniel pointed out, would turn power sector reform into a dangerous “zero-sum game.”
