‘Murang Kuryente’ bill gets bicam nod

The said items are passed on to consumers through the universal charge in the monthly electric bill. (Pixabay Photo)

MANILA — The congressional bicameral conference committee on Thursday approved the “Murang Kuryente” bill, which seeks to reduce the country’s electricity rates.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate committee on energy and co-author of the bill, said it proposes the use of the PHP208-billion Malampaya Fund to pay off the stranded contract costs and stranded debt of the National Power Corporation.

The said items are passed on to consumers through the universal charge in the monthly electric bill.

He said around 60 to 70 percent of the total PHP208-billion Malampaya fund will be used to pay for the said items while the remainder will be used to fund the exploration of energy resources.

Gatchalian said the bill would help lower the cost of electricity and provide significant consumer savings for Filipinos. For a household consuming 200 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month, Gatchalian said this would result in savings of almost PHP170 per month.

“Almost PHP1 ang matitipid ng ating mga consumers at para sa ordinary consumers, yung mga kumukunsumo ng 200 kWh per month, almost PHP170 ang matitipid niya kada buwan. More or less lumalabas almost four kilos of rice yung matitipid ng isang ordinaryong pamilya (Consumers can save up to PHP1 [per kWh] and those who consume 200 kWh per month can save up to almost PHP170 monthly. More or less, almost four kilos of rice can be saved up by an ordinary family),” Gatchalian said.

He noted that around 16 million households would benefit from this bill once it is enacted into law.