A consumer group urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to prioritize the nation’s high electricity rates and unreliable power supply, ahead of his third State of the Nation Address (SONA). 

The call from the Power for People Coalition (P4P) came amid growing discontent over how the administration has been handling the escalating costs and frequent power outages that affect millions of Filipinos.

Last week, P4P called on the Office of the President to investigate the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) failure to curb the power industry from increasing electricity rates to record levels. 

They highlighted the commission’s inaction on conducting a regulatory rate reset for distribution utilities, including Meralco, which was originally scheduled from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2019.

“A week on, and the President has so far ignored our call for action. Consumers are being robbed by the billions from an outdated rate of return for power companies, alongside continued pass-through of high costs from sources like coal and gas,” said Gerry Arances, the convenor of P4P.

The coalition also raised issues about annual power outages, particularly during the extremely warm seasons influenced by El Nino. 

According to data from the think-tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED), forced outages over the past five years have been predominantly due to failures in coal (51.23%) and gas (19.87%) power plants.

Despite President Marcos’s assertion in his first SONA that renewable energy is the future of the Philippines, his administration’s initial Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) seems to extend the country’s reliance on fossil fuels. 

This plan appears in contrast to his promises made in the 8-point economic agenda, which includes reducing energy costs to protect the purchasing power of families.