BBM SONA 2023: Nothing for electricity consumers

Wazzup Pilipinas!?




In the second State of the Nation of Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., despite its relatively robust presentation of the country’s economy and successes in his different initiatives, electricity consumer interest remains wanting. In his speech, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said “we will spare no effort to achieve full household-electrification by the end of my term. 100% is within our reach.”

Roland Vibal, national coordinator for Kuryente.org, said:

“We support the administration’s effort to conduct a performance review of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) as its sole concessionaire of the national grid. It is high time that this private corporation’s performance and capacity to deliver reliable electricity and efficient grid operation be reviewed and audited as well. The success in ensuring electricity supply through various development of renewable energy will be useless if our current electricity backbone is unable to deliver it where it is needed most.

“President Marcos presented his administration’s accomplishments in the realm of energy production. We welcome the administration’s resolve to increase renewable energy’s share in our current energy mix, and its resolve to ensure that the country’s electricity is link nationally through a Unified National Grid to ensure electricity reliability.

“These two initiatives by the current administration are on the right track to ensure that the country’s electricity needs are provided. Yet if this will translate into cheaper electricity price is another question. His promise to make electricity prices cheap was absent in his one-hour and 45-minute speech. Electricity prices remain high and even soar way above our means. Sadly, we heard no assurance nor any categorical statement from the president.

“For Kuryente.Org, President Marcos’ SONA 2023 left us, electricity consumers, wanting for more in both form and substance. The President has shown he can act quickly on other equally important issues, such as condoning small farmer’s debt to emancipate them from poverty and provide more KADIWA’s to help our food consumers. The President can likewise ease the burden of high electricity rate not only through mid and strategic solutions, but residential electricity consumers also need urgent solution to continuing high price of electricity and one urgent solution is to lower the tax burden in our electricity cost.”