By Danessa Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated January 28, 2018 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Energy
Regulatory Commission (ERC) has required distribution utilities (DUs) to submit
system loss and reliability data online to ensure the quality, reliability,
security and affordability of electric power supply.
The power regulator has directed DUs
to submit within six months after the last workshop conducted by the
Distribution Management Committee (DMC) the distribution system loss
segregation and interruption reports electronically.
“The Distribution Management
Committee is hereby announcing the commencement of submission of the system
loss segregation and interruption reports by July 2018,” it said.
The ERC has previously issued a
resolution that directs the DMC to conduct a workshop regarding the guidelines
and procedures for web-based report submission.
The DMC was established by the power
regulator to monitor evaluate, and make recommendations on distribution
operation.
It is also tasked to review and
recommend standards, procedures, and requirements for distribution system
connection, operation, maintenance, and development.
The DMC also prepares regular and
special reports for submission to the ERC, or as required by the appropriate
government agency, or when requested by a distribution system user.
Earlier, the ERC said it is
implementing a lower system loss cap by the fourth quarter this year to reduce
the pass-on burden to consumers.
System loss refers to unbilled power
caused by pilferage and physical loss of energy when electricity passes through
distribution lines, which can be passed on to consumers as stated under
Republic Act 7832, or the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission
Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994.
The proposal for lower system loss
cap was drafted by a third party consultant, which also studied how the bill
item can be segregated into technical and non-technical items.
Technical system loss is an inherent
loss in the physical delivery of electricity while non-technical system loss is
a result of pilferage, human error like tampering of meters and erroneous meter
reading.
Under its proposal, the consultant
segregated the technical from the non-technical system loss. The proposed cap
for non-technical system loss of electric cooperatives (EC) is at 4.5 percent
and 1.25 percent for privately-owned DUs.
Currently, the ERC has set the
system loss cap at 8.5 percent for privately-owned DUs and 13 percent for EC,
which can be passed on to consumers through a line item in their monthly
electricity bills.
A law is also being passed to reduce
the amount of system loss charges electricity companies are allowed to pass on
to consumers in their monthly bills.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has filed
Senate Bill 1623, otherwise known the Recoverable System Loss Act, which
proposes to decrease the current system loss caps from 8.5 percent to five
percent for private DUs and 13 percent to 10 percent for ECs.
This will result in net overall
savings on retail electricity to as high as P0.66 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) in
some areas.
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