The Department of Energy (DOE) urges household beneficiaries listed under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to avail of the electricity lifeline rate program of the government in order 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 P.M. Lotilla said.
For lifeline consumers who have been struggling to make ends meet on their monthly budgets, electricity discounts could help them ease their pockets. The Secretary stressed that all they need to do is simply apply and register with their distribution utilities (DUs) or electric cooperatives (ECs).
The scale of rate reduction varies depending on the prevailing rates of the DUs. For instance, lifeline end-users in the Meralco franchise area with zero to 20 kilowatt-hours (kWh) 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 PhP5.00, which means they will only be paying more or less PhP20.00 in their electric bills.
"If they do not avail of the program through Meralco, they will have to shell out more or less PhP250.00, an amount which could otherwise be spent for their other needs such as food," the Secretary 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," the Secretary added.
To apply for the lifeline rate program, any household consumer who is a beneficiary of the 4Ps must only submit to their DUs/Cs a duly accomplished application form, the most recent electricity bill, and any valid government-issued identification card (ID) 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 (5) members and have a combined monthly income of PhP12,030, must submit to their DUs a certification by their local Social Welfare Development Office (SWDO) issued within six (6) 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. (PR/DOE)
