DOE Pursues Consumers’ Perspective for Electric Bill Reforms

Wazzup Pilipinas!

As part of its commitment to empower consumers, the Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with local government units and electric cooperatives of Leyte province, today held a briefing on the Proposed Uniform Monthly Electricity Bill Format that contains more pro-consumer information.

Two briefings were set for Tacloban City on 19 April 2018 (Thursday) at the DILG Convention Hall and in Ormoc City on 20 April 2018 at the Ormoc City Multi-Purpose Hall.

The briefing follows Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi’s directive to fully implement the consumer welfare promotion provisions of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

The briefing intends to inform the public on the Unbundling of Electricity Rates and the Proposed Uniform Monthly Electricity Bill Format of distribution utilities/electric cooperatives in relation to the implementation of Section 36 on the Unbundling of Rates and Functions of the EPIRA.

The law requires that any electric power industry PARTICIPANT shall functionally and structurally unbundle its business activities and rates in accordance with the sectors (generation, transmission and supply) and shall reflect the respective costs of providing each service.

DOE Undersecretary Petronilo L. Ilagan, who represented the Energy Chief, said the DOE’s battlecry is to serve consumers.

“The topmost element in achieving this [public service] is through greater transparency. This is the core message for today’s pivotal event that would spark reform in the consumer’s electric bill,” Ilagan said.

The DOE official said the discussions with the energy stakeholders endeavor to support the realization of the provisions in the EPIRA.

“We anchor this activity on empowering all electricity consumers. We need to equip them with accurate information as provided in the monthly electric bill to enable them to manage their electricity consumption more efficiently,” he said.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) issued in 2007 a policy directing all distribution utilities/electric cooperatives to post in their respective websites the breakdown of their generation charges, including but not limited to, their sources.

Another topic of discussion was about “ancillary services,” which are needed in the transmission sector to maintain the stability and security of the grid.

The DOE also shed light on the bill deposit, which is required from customers by distribution utilities of new and/or additional service equivalent to the estimated billing for one month. Currently, bill deposit is also not shown in the monthly billing statement.

Participants in the briefing were local government units of Tacloban City and Ormoc City, including barangay officials, the five electric cooperatives operating in Leyte, local media and other sectors related to the power industry.

UP Engineering Choir Presents Eng’g Choir in Encore

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In its 18 years of service, the University of the Philippines Engineering Choir (UP Engg Choir) has been at the forefront of developing and enriching the talents and skills of engineering students in the field of music through choral singing. It has not only entertained its audience with its different songs, but also brought pride to the college by bagging awards and recognitions from well-regarded choral competitions in the University of the Philippines.

As a way of giving thanks to the College and to the community for its continuous support to the choir's endeavors, the UP Engineering Choir will conduct its annual free-for-all concert entitled “EnggChoir in Encore” on May 10, 2018 (Thursday), 6:00 PM at the Engineering Theater of Melchor Hall. The concert will also serve as a benefit concert for the rehabilitation the UP Shopping Center.

For more information, follow the UP Engineering Choir on Facebook (@UPEngineeringChoir) and Twitter (@upenggchoir). See you there!

ePLDT Joins Asia CEO Forum on Cyber Security

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Angel Redoble, ePLDT Group Chief Information Security Officer, represents ePLDT at the annual Asia CEO Forum on Cyber Security: Protect Your Business in a Philippine Context at the Marriott Hotel, Manila.

ePLDT, the industry-leading enabler of digital enterprise solutions in the Philippines, recently participated in the Asia CEO Forum on Cyber Security: Protect Your Business in a Philippine Context at the Marriott Hotel, Manila. Angel Redoble, ePLDT Chief Group Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), was invited as one of the guest speakers to open the discussion on the cyber security challenges to Philippine businesses.

Recent reports indicated that a third of the world’s cybercrime incidences take place in Asia. The Philippines, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, is the 10th most attacked country online next to Japan among global nations that have been victimized by cyber criminals. The proliferation of cyberattacks means an increase in business losses, especially to those that are slowly undergoing digital transformation but are not fully equipped with a comprehensive cyber security defense.

“If you are in the business sector, you should be worried about cyberattacks. Businesses that don’t have an end-to-end cyber security strategy are exposed to financial, reputational and legal risks,” Redoble said. “Hacking is not about tools. It’s more about the skills. High school students can hack you and they are smart enough not to equip themselves with tools to get what they want.”

ePLDT’s end-to-end Cyber Security solutions cover framework, intelligence, technology and expertise to protect businesses from evolving threats, malicious software attacks, possible data loss and reputational risks. The company is the first to build a robust Security Operations Center to offer an end to end cyber security services that can Predict, Prevent, Detect and Respond to cyber threats through its highly sophisticated SOC command center, malware and digital forensic laboratory, penetration testing laboratory and its global threat intelligence platform that is heavily used in gathering advance threat information on potential attacks through global threat feeds from partners around the world.

The Asia CEO Forum, presented by PLDT Enterprise, is the largest regular business event in the Philippines that focuses on promoting the country as a premier business destination to global decision makers.

Learn more about ePLDT and its business solutions at www.epldt.com.