The number of household beneficiaries listed under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) that have registered tol the government’s electricity lifeline rate program remains low, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
As of Dec. 15, 2023, only 191,399 have registered out of the 4.2 million 4Ps members, according to Luningning Baltazar, director of the DOE’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau.
“There is no deadline for the registration so they can register anytime they want to go to the office of their distribution utilities (DUs)… Starting the January 2024 bill, only those registered can avail discounted electricity bills as long as they are within the threshold approved by the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission),” Baltazar told the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon news program.
The DOE said among the challenges being cited by customers in registering for the lifeline rate program is the absence of individual meters.
Some customers are also discouraged to join the program as there are areas, particularly in Visayas, where the ERC approved threshold is only 25 kilowatt hours (kWh), which is deemed too low compared to the average monthly residential power consumption of 200 kWh, it added.
“We still encourage them to register since the rightful thresholds are being studied. Other 4Ps are also located in far-flung and dispersed areas which are hard to reach and are unaware of this program. The conduct of caravans will continue to serve as an information campaign. For DUs, they are also encouraged to conduct on-the-spot registration during the lifeline caravans,” Baltazar said.
The DOE said lifeline end-users, for instance, in the Manila Electric Co. franchise area with zero to 20 kWh of monthly consumption get 100 percent discount on generation charges, including system loss, transmission and distribution components of their bill except for the fixed metering charge of P5. This means they will only be paying more or less P20 in their electric bills.
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 to avail the program.
