PH now has Highest Electricity Rates in Asia

[KSWISS369]

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okay ra unta ug limpyo palang ang ilang mga powerlines ug stable ang power.. pero dli man. syaro dli maulaw ang mga power companies ana?!

sakto gyud ni bro...grabe gyud ning electric companies ginasya permi...hasta power loss consumer pay mobayad....saon daghan man ug power loss sa ilang system sa down stream. labi kanang nang hook up lang wa moagi ug electric meter...

[kit_cebu]

if only naa laing power company ai................ friggin monopolists!!!!

[Golden Thief Bug]

well in the states they have more than one power companies and what happen is that those power companies are doing the best they can to give the best service to lure more customers. meaning a contest on whos the better provider unlike what we have here that were stuck only with VECO.

[nyxgorf]

well in the states they have more than one power companies and what happen is that those power companies are doing the best they can to give the best service to lure more customers. meaning a contest on whos the better provider unlike what we have here that were stuck only with VECO.

mao gyud.. agree kaayo ko ani.. so wla jd ta mahimo kung magpa taas ang veco kai isa rman kbook provider...

[wikki]

aside from monopoly we have no other major source of power except for imported oil.

[kit_cebu]

^there are plenty of sources unta pero barawon sa mga panuwang mga aktibista..... friggin idiots......

[rare_phoenix]

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has gained a new record, that of having the most expensive electricity in the whole of Asia.

The new record was reported by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to the power and energy committee of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) chaired by Jose Alejandro during its meeting last Thursday, Feb. 3.

The Meralco member of the committee quoted a study made last October by the International Energy Consultants, an independent think-tank which allowed the power distributor to borrow the result of said study.

The study had shown that with average retail rate of electricity of 18.1 US cents per kilowatt/hour in the Philippines, it has eased out Japan at the top of having the most expensive electricity in Asia. As of the same month last year, electric rates in Japan were at 17.9 US cents per kilowatt/hour.

Besides Japan, subjected to the study were the utility companies in Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia.

A similar study made by Meralco using the figures in the last quarter of 2008 indicated that until that year, the Philippines was still slightly behind Japan in electric rates.

The disparity in rates between the Philippines and most countries in the rest of Asia was so big that with the exception of Japan and Singapore, what consumers pay elsewhere is just the equivalent of the generation charges that consumers in the Philippines pay. This averages P5 a kilowatt/hour.

The high cost of electricity in the Philippines was traced by the group to the fact that all costs — from producing power to distribution and taxes — are passed on to consumers. Besides, the Philippines is the only country in the region that has privatized its electric power sector and has no state subsidy on rates.

The study likewise noted that domestic natural gas coming from the Malampaya gas deposits in offshore Palawan that fuels three of the biggest power plants in Luzon have been priced so high. It has been suggested that the Philippine government renegotiate the Malampaya contract to bring down the cost of natural gas.

Reacting to the new record, Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) chairman Meneleo Carlos said that the prohibitive cost of electricity in the country must be the biggest reason why foreign investments have been shrinking in the Philippines, while it is kicking up in other countries in the region.

The study also found that household consumers in the Philippines pay highest at an average of P10 per kilowatt/hour, shouldering the biggest burden of high electric rates. In other Asian countries, rates for commercial establishments are highest.

Everywhere, electricity is cheapest in the industrial sector but Meralco reported there are now very few factories and industrial plants within its franchise area.

[Taken from Philstar article]

And to think Meralco's been posting record profits for the past few years. Bet you won't hear about this from ABS CBN.

Not in ABS-CBN anymore because Manuel Lopez's not the CEO since May last year.


Manny Pangilinan is Meralco's new CEO

05/25/2010 | 03:24 PM

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Power utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is the latest addition to the growing roster of companies business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan heads.

QTV's Balitanghali reported on Tuesday that Pangilinan would replace Manuel Lopez as Meralco's CEO.

The Pangilinan-led Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. control more than 40 percent of Meralco shares.

Pangilinan chairs several other firms such as First Pacific Co. Ltd., First Pacific Tollways Corp. – which handles the North Luzon Expressway – and MediaQuest Holdings Inc., which controls ABC TV-5.

—Sophia Dedace/VS, GMANews.TV

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Problem is really with Monopoly of Electricity here in the Phils.If naa lang competitor naa jud changes sa rates, i think.

[Romeojin]

update.. dili na asia entire world na

Phl has world's highest power rates | The Philippine Star >> News >> Headlines

By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated February 23, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines, which ranks among the most corrupt countries, also holds the unenviable record of having the highest residential power rates not only in Asia but in the entire world. Officials of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) admitted as much yesterday in the course of a hearing by the House energy committee on the high cost of electricity in the country.
Responding to questions raised by Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, the energy officials said the Philippines has overtaken Japan as the country that charges the highest electricity rate on residential users.
As for commercial users, the country charges the second highest rate after Singapore. Commercial users pay more here for electricity than those in Japan.
Former Pampanga Rep. Zenaida Ducut, whom former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had appointed ERC chair months before ending her nine-year presidency, and Lourdes Alzona, PSALM vice-president for finance, could not give the energy committee comparative data on the rates in Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, and other countries.
But Evardone revealed the rates to reporters based on a Department of Energy report made available to him by Batasan Rep. Henedina Abad, chair of the energy committee.
Evardone, whose Resolution 106 prompted the committee inquiry, said the residential rate here is about 18 US cents per kilowatt-hour.
It is 17 cents in Japan, 15 in Singapore, eight in Thailand, seven in Malaysia, five in Indonesia, and three cents in Vietnam, he said.
In terms of the commercial rate, it is 14 cents in Singapore, 13 in the Philippines, 12 in Japan, eight in Thailand, seven in Malaysia, six in Vietnam, and five cents in Indonesia.
“No wonder we have not been attracting foreign investors. Imagine, we beat the developed countries and largest economies like Japan in terms of power rates?” Evardone said, adding electricity rates are a big part of the cost of doing business.
The energy officials tried to justify the high cost of electricity here by saying the other countries cited are subsidizing their residential users.
“But we also have subsidies here, like the lifeline rates for poor households,” Deputy Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella, one of the authors of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001, retorted.
“Our principal objective in enacting Epira 10 years ago was to bring down electricity rates. Sad to say, that did not happen. The law did not fail; it is the implementation that failed. This is not what we expected to happen,” he said.
Fuentebella hinted that the ERC and Congress should share part of the blame for the high cost of electricity here.
“The ERC has disregarded some mandatory rate reduction schemes in violation of Epira,” he said.
On the part of Congress, he said the legislature imposed a 12-percent value added tax on electricity, which used to be VAT-exempt.
Alzona admitted that despite the already high cost of power here, PSALM would push through with asking the ERC to approve an adjustment of up to 15 centavos per kilowatt-hour to enable it to pay its loans.
Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo of the party-list group Ang Galing Pinoy urged PSALM and the National Power Corp. (Napocor) to collect billions from private power distributors and cooperatives before making the public pay more.
“They should collect from Meralco and electric cooperatives,” he said. Arroyo was energy committee chairman in the previous Congress.
Energy officials admitted that Meralco owes Napocor about P36 billion incurred between 2001 and 2003.
They said Meralco, the largest power distributor in the country, is disputing the billings and the case is now pending in court.
They said among distribution utilities in the provinces, the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative has the biggest debt owed to Napocor, which amounts to P4.6 billion.
Rep. Maximo Rodriguez of the party-list group Abante Mindanao shared Arroyo’s call for PSALM and Napocor to compel private distribution firms to pay their debts before petitioning for a rate increase.
“Meralco can afford to pay. It is making billions every year in net profits,” he said.

[pepponeskie]

PNOC is now owned by the Lopez of ABS-CBN...

[danver2099]

nuclear energy would have been a good source of electricity. oh well

naa bitaw tay nuclear power plant worth 500 Million Pesos pero sa ka bright sa mga Pinoy, wala jud intawn gamita, and whats worst is that we are paying Millions of pesos for its maintenance for over decades now. That power plant in Bataan can supply huge amount of power that could have helped ease the power shortages that caused our electricity bills to skyrocket. Unsaon man pud gud kay gusto man sad nila mahal kay aron dako sila ug kita... imba ka greedy ning mga tawhana...