Panayam kay Monalisa Dimalanta, Chairperson, ERC | Unang Balita
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00:00Some consumers are still hoping for a shocking electricity bill following the announcement by Meralco that the bill will rise this month.
00:07Is there a way for the consumers to avoid the bill?
00:11For that, let's welcome our Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson, Monalisa Dimalanta.
00:16Chair, good morning. Thank you for joining us for the first news.
00:20Good morning. Good morning to everyone who is with us this morning.
00:25Chair, the ERC approved a four-month staggered payment for distribution facilities in WESEM or Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
00:36What does that mean? What effect will that have on our consumers?
00:40Will the bill decrease or decrease in their electricity bill? Or will the increase be small but still increase? Please explain.
00:47That's right. Some are still hoping for an increase, not all of them.
00:52But definitely, our objective here is to decrease.
00:58We hope that this will decrease our electricity bill so that it won't be a single drop.
01:05It will be redistributed over the next four months.
01:08The increase that we felt because of the summer months.
01:13Just for our countrymen' knowledge, the cost of WESEM is because of the high demand in the past summer months, right?
01:27The high demand and there are big plantations.
01:32Usually, the big ones are the cheaper ones because they can supply more with just one facility.
01:40So when the big one went wrong, the small one was added.
01:43That's why we didn't have a system-wide blackout.
01:46But this small one, it usually uses crude oil, which is more expensive.
01:53Their fuel is more expensive.
01:55So it also increased the price.
01:57So there are two reasons.
01:59First, the demand increased, so the price increased.
02:02Second, the type of plant used is more expensive.
02:09That's why they need to reduce the fuel cost.
02:15This is what Meralco announced, 64 centavos per kilowatt hour.
02:21We can expect that this is just the first in a series.
02:24Is that right?
02:25Will there be more succeeding increases?
02:28I hope not.
02:30This is what Meralco announced.
02:35This is what came from the summer months.
02:37Our monitoring over the last two weeks,
02:41actually this is our third week,
02:43we are back to normal.
02:45There are no more red or yellow alerts.
02:47Our plants are back to normal.
02:49Our hydro plants are not yet back to normal because the water is still cool.
02:53But we expect that the situation will normalize.
02:57So we don't expect any more supply crunches over the next few months.
03:06Now, because of our four-month monitoring,
03:10do we have an estimate of how much charges will be issued every month?
03:14Do you have a range of how much this will be a bottom line effect
03:18on the electricity bill of consumers?
03:20Yes.
03:21The impact on us is different depending on where we are.
03:26I assume we are in the Meralco franchise area.
03:30Meralco's estimate when they asked us
03:35is that the impact will be around 15 to 20 cents.
03:41So it will go down a bit and spread over the next four months.
03:45That's why we expect that the next few months
03:49will have lower charges.
03:52We don't want it to spike.
03:54But the big effect of this is in places
03:59where they are almost 100% WESEM exposed.
04:03Their utilities have no contracts.
04:05Like which places, ma'am?
04:07We have electrical operatives in Visayas
04:12that are 100% exposed.
04:14So our estimate is around 150 to 200 pesos
04:18for an increase.
04:20So that's what we will divide in the next four months.
04:23Mayor, Chair, President Marcos said
04:26that you are suspending the operation of WESEM
04:28if there is a red alert.
04:30Did this have an impact on the bill of consumers?
04:35Yes, it had a big impact.
04:37That's our estimate.
04:39If there is a suspension or if there is no suspension,
04:44sometimes it ranges up to 50%
04:47when it comes to the price in the market.
04:51So this also helped.
04:53But we don't want the situation to be like this
04:57where the Energy Regulatory Commission
05:00is asking for the price.
05:02We don't want to get used to this.
05:04So we are approving other measures.
05:07Like what I said earlier,
05:09the 100% WESEM exposed.
05:12We have already approved their power supply agreement
05:15so that they will no longer depend on WESEM.
05:18They have already signed the contract
05:20and the price is already fixed.
05:22The price of their consumers will not go down.
05:26Ma'am, another question from our countrymen.
05:29Aside from the higher demand,
05:31obviously because it's summer,
05:33why did the price of electricity in WESEM go up?
05:36Is this really demand-driven
05:38or are there other factors at play
05:40if the price is really high?
05:43First of all, we saw the summer demand
05:46and the plants that went wrong.
05:49The more expensive plants were used.
05:52The crude oil was more expensive.
05:54Their coal was more expensive.
05:56Actually, our coals went bad.
05:58So the crude oil was more expensive.
06:00Diesel plants came to us in the summer.
06:03Third, depending on the area,
06:05there are places where there is high congestion
06:09so that the traffic of electricity
06:12in those places will increase.
06:15That will also increase the price
06:18because there is no way for the electricity
06:21to pass through.
06:22The electrons are scattered in one place.
06:25So that will also have an impact on the price.
06:28So there are technical reasons.
06:31Having said all that,
06:32ma'am, we went through another very hot summer
06:35and our electric bills really went up
06:38and there were yellow and red alerts.
06:40Moving forward,
06:41what can the government do
06:44and what can the ERC do
06:46so that ultimately,
06:47what our countrymen want
06:49is a lower price for electricity?
06:51What can we expect for the next few years?
06:55You're right.
06:56Actually, you're right.
06:57What we want...
06:58Actually, the first thing we want
07:00is electricity.
07:01Second, a lower price for electricity.
07:04So the first thing we're trying to solve
07:07is the issue of supply.
07:08We want more plants to enter.
07:12We don't just want more plants to enter.
07:16We also want...
07:17This is one of the things
07:19that I personally encourage
07:21in these kinds of interviews.
07:24If we can,
07:25we have fellow countrymen
07:27who can afford to put solar in their homes.
07:30We're talking about renewables.
07:32Yes.
07:33And to put in our own efforts
07:35so that the demand for grid
07:37for those who cannot put solar
07:39in their buildings or houses
07:41will be reduced
07:43because others are putting in their own efforts.
07:46So there are a lot of programs
07:48that the government is doing.
07:50But like I said,
07:51first of all,
07:52we need to increase our supply
07:54so that we have more breathing space
07:57when the demand increases.
08:00Chair, thank you very much for the introduction.
08:03Good morning to you.
08:04Thank you very much.
08:05We talked to ERC Chairperson
08:07Mona Lisa de Malanta.
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