(The Philippine Star) | Updated December 3, 2017 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines —
The full implementation of retail competition and open access (RCOA) can
mitigate the projected impact of higher coal taxes, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian
said.
Gatchalian is urging
the Department of Energy (DOE) to fast-track the implementation of the RCOA
circular to mitigate the effects of projected electricity rate hikes in case
the huge excise tax hike on coal becomes law.
The circular, which
seeks to finally implement the RCOA provision of the 16-year-old Electric Power
Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), is expected to foster competition among
electricity suppliers by giving consumers the freedom to choose where and what
kind of electricity to purchase.
This is expected to
drive down electricity costs and promote transparency in the energy sector.
“With the coal tax in
place, all the more that we need to implement RCOA to democratize our power
sector. The RCOA will help lower costs to protect consumers from the
inflationary effects of the coal tax,” Gatchalian said.
“Once you give the
consumers the power of choice, they will be able to choose whether they want
coal, renewable energy or geothermal, whichever is cheaper and more sustainable
for them,” said Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate energy committee.
Based on studies, the
lawmaker said electricity bills of average households are expected to increase
by P10 in 2018, P20 by 2019 and P28 by 2020, noting that these estimates are
bound to grow as new coal plants come online in the near future.
The Senate rushed to
approve the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bill Tuesday
night, which included a coal excise tax increase from P10 per metric ton to
P100 per metric ton on the first year, P200 in the second year and P300 in the
third and succeeding years.
Gatchalian was the lone
dissenter on the coal tax since he said this will be passed on to consumers.
“If ever the coal tax
will be signed into law, then we will really feel the P300 per metric ton tax
on coal in our electricity bill,” he said.
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