BACOLOD City – The Alliance of Concerned Consumers in Electricity and Social Services (ACCESS) in Negros Occidental is pushing for the creation of national and local energy price monitoring council.
Wennie Sancho, ACCESS president, said the councils would address the economic woes of the electricity household consumers with the primary purpose of protecting them to ensure that prices of electricity are just and reasonable.
The national local energy price monitoring council (NPMC), Sancho said, shall prod the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to reassess the power generation charges to ensure they are just and reasonable, while the local energy price monitoring council shall collaborate with the local government units (LGUs) to ensure sustained support and progress towards addressing the issue of high electricity costs.
He added that the ERC, for its part, should ensure that power generation charges should be transparent and intensify its monitoring of power generation companies to prevent abuse of market power.
As of this writing, Sancho has yet to submit a proposal for the creation of the energy price monitoring council to the national and local level.
Last week, ACCESS also urged the Negros Occidental Provincial Government and LGUs in the province to activate their respective price monitoring councils under Republic Act (RA) 10623.
The said law mandates the protection to consumers by stabilizing the prices of basic necessities and prime commodities and prescribing measures against undue price increases during emergency situation.
Sancho said a taskforce should be formed to monitor prices, supply chains and energy market, adding that the government should educate the citizens about its initiative and price stabilization efforts to protect the welfare of the people.
He added that price control and regulation is necessary by establishing price ceiling for essential commodities to prevent profiteering./PN
