00:00Their Meralko customer has a problem with where he will get the payment for their bill this July.
00:07It's a sudden hit because their bill is more than P2.00.
00:13Maki Pulido is in trouble.
00:18Everything that can be saved in using electricity was already done by Alona.
00:23Before, we have two electric fans in our living room.
00:26Now, we only use one.
00:28We will just turn it off when no one is around.
00:30We don't turn it on even at night.
00:34Because of this, from 392 kWh of consumption, it went down to 347 kWh.
00:39But Alona was very surprised when their Meralko bill arrived this July.
00:44Their bill is still more than P345.
00:48This month, Meralko is P2.15 higher.
00:5211 pesos and 60 centavos per kilowatt hour is the electricity rate for consuming 200 kWh.
01:00Lola Clarita is also in trouble.
01:03How will Meralko pay for the bill that reached more than P6,000.
01:07The money is already spent because they need to buy maintenance medicine for their husband.
01:12It's really hard, ma'am.
01:14Sometimes, we have to use rice to survive.
01:21No matter how much you save, the cost is still high, said the Power for People Coalition.
01:26If you look at your electric bill, 40 to 50 percent of the cost is generation charge.
01:31This is what the power generators buy when they supply electricity that we, the consumers, use.
01:37More than half of the electricity in the Philippines comes from coal-powered plants.
01:41And when its price went up in the world market, consumers paid for it.
01:46When the electricity was still lacking due to the destruction of some coal plants during the heat wave,
01:51sales went up in the spot market.
01:53That's why we are paying a high generation charge.
02:08The Power for People Coalition said,
02:10all consumers should not pay.
02:12There should be a straight-pricing contract where it is stated how much to sell.
02:17And if it suddenly goes up in price, the buyer should answer.
02:20Whatever you put in the contract, the price of the electricity,
02:25you should not pay anything else.
02:29Because what happens is, they hide the real cost
02:33that depends on how they raise the electricity sources.
02:40According to the Energy Regulatory Commission,
02:42the pass-through mechanism allows fuel costs.
02:45Power generators also buy fuel in the world market.
02:49Straight-pricing or fixed contract is rare.
02:52But they monitor what can be passed to the consumers.
02:56According to the initial data of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperative,
02:59the cost per kilowatt-hour is 2 to 3 pesos per kilowatt-hour in some provinces in Region 1, 2, 6, and 7.
03:06The generation charge will not be charged until September.
03:10For the month of July, we will go back to our rate
03:15and we will add what we did not collect in June.
03:18For GMA Integrated News, Mackie Pulido, for Tutok, 24 Hours.
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