Senator Sherwin Gatchalian lauded President Rodrigo Duterte for signing into law the “Murang Kuryente Act,” which seeks to lower the country’s electricity rates.
Gatchalian, chair of the Senate committee on energy, said the newly-signed law would ease the burden of Filipino consumers in paying their electricity bills once the government’s share of the Malampaya fund is tapped to cover the stranded debts and contract costs of the National Power Corporation (Napocor).
Under the law, a portion of the P208-billion Malampaya Fund would be used to pay off the said items which are passed on to consumers through the universal charge (UC) in the monthly electric bill.
“Magiging abot-kamay na ng bawat Pilipino ang mas mababang kuryente na kay tagal nang pinapangarap ng bawat isa sa atin ngayong nilagdaan na ang Murang Kuryente Act (The dream of having lower electricity rates would be within reach for every Filipino now that the Murang Kuryente Act is signed into law),” the legislator said.
“I thank President Rodrigo Duterte for finally putting an end to the burden of every power consumer in paying off Napocor’s debts.”
“Nagpapasalamat ako kay Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte dahil sa wakas ay matutuldukan na rin ang paghihirap ng bawat power consumer sa pagpasan ng utang ng Napocor (I thank President Rodrigo Duterte for finally putting an end to the burden of every power consumer in paying off Napocor’s debts),” the lawmaker added.
“Savings may be used to buy an additional three to four kilos of rice per month.”
The senator noted that an average household consuming 200 kilowatts per hour would have a total monthly savings of P172 once the Murang Kuryente Act is implemented. He added that these savings may be used to buy an additional three to four kilos of rice per month or roughly a sack of rice per year.
“Ang pagpasa ng batas nito ay isang malaking tagumpay ng bawat Pilipino consumers tungo sa mas abot-kayang kuryente para sa lahat (The enactment of this law is a huge victory for every Filipino consumer toward more affordable electricity for everyone),” Gatchalian said.