The Department of Energy (DOE) asked household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to avail of the electricity lifeline rate program to continue to get discounts on their electricity bills.
“There are 4.2 million household beneficiaries of 4Ps, and the registration for lifeline subsidy remains very low. Only those who register will continue to receive a reduction in their electricity
bills beginning August 2023,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
“We are not imposing a deadline on when the consumer could avail of the discounted rate. However, unless registered, they cannot avail of the benefits,” he said.
Lotilla said 4Ps beneficiaries need to do is apply and register with their distribution utilities (DU) or electric cooperatives (EC).
The rate reduction varies depending on the prevailing rates of the utility firms. Lifeline end-users in the Meralco franchise area with zero to 20 kilowatt-hours of monthly consumption will be granted a 100-percent discount on the generation charges, including system loss, transmission, and distribution components of their bill, except for the fixed metering charge of P5, which means they will only be paying more or less P20 in their electric bills.
“If they do not avail of the program through Meralco, they will have to shell out more or less P250, an amount which could otherwise be spent for their other needs such as food,” he said.
To apply for the lifeline rate program, any household consumer who is a beneficiary of the 4Ps must only submit to their DUs/ECs a duly accomplished application form, the most recent electricity bill, and any valid government-issued identification card containing the signature and address of the consumer.
Other marginalized end-user applicants who are not in the 4Ps beneficiaries but belong to a household of at least five (members and have a combined monthly income of P12,030, must submit to their DUs a certification by their local Social Welfare Development Office issued within six months before the filing of the application showing their family income at the time of application, a duly accomplished form, most recent electricity bill and any government-issued ID containing the signature and address of the consumer.
The monthly income threshold may change and vary for each DU franchise area as may be determined the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Based on the data provided by the Energy Regulatory Commission to the DOE, only 1,816 consumers out of 24 million 4Ps beneficiaries nationwide have applied for the lifeline program, as of July 10, 2023.
Only 31 DUs have received lifeline program applications while 110 Dus have not received a single application as of the same date.
The subsidy is provided under Republic Act No. 11552, or an Act Extending and Enhancing the Implementation of the Lifeline Rate, Amending for the Purpose Section 73 of RA 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
Under the said Act, the lifeline or subsidized rates are given to low-income customers using electricity below 100 kWh per month who cannot afford to pay their bills at full cost.
