Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday called for a suspension of any power rate hike until regulators explain why the cost of electricity is rising and until an investigation into last summer's rotating brownouts is finished.
Hontiveros made the call after Meralco announced that it would increase rates in August by a P0.0965 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
The senator said Meralco had been raising rates since April this year. For August, a typical household consuming 200 kWh per month could see a P19 increase in its bill.
"Hindi biro ang limang buwang sunud-sunod na taas-singil. Bawat piso ay mahalaga ngayon lalo pa't marami na naman ang hindi makapaghanapbuhay dahil sa panibagong lockdown," she added.
Meralco attributed this month's power rate hike to higher transmission charges, which went up to P0.7323 kWh from July's P0.5992 kWh.
Hontiveros recalled that during their hearing in the Senate, agencies and other stakeholders in the power industry said that there would be no increase in transmission charges.
"Kung walang malinaw na paliwanag tungkol dito, makabubuting ipatigil muna ito para sa kapakanan ng ating mga konsyumer na umaasa sa magandang ibinunga ng naturang pagdinig," the senator said.
The Senate Committee on Energy launched an inquiry into the rotational brownouts that hit Luzon in May and June this year to come up with long-term solutions to the power supply shortages especially during the summer months.
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