MANILA – The House of Representatives approved on the third and final reading a proposal granting another 25-year franchise to Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Wednesday.
With 186 affirmative votes, seven negative votes, and four abstentions, the chamber passed House Bill (HB) 10926, which seeks to renew Meralco’s franchise to construct, operate, and maintain a distribution system for the conveyance of electric power to consumers.
The current franchise is set to expire in 2028.
The bill mandates Meralco to supply electricity to consumers in the least costly manner.
The company shall also be required to operate and maintain all electric distribution facilities, lines and systems for electric services in a superior manner.
HB 10926 has provisions to protect consumer rights by requiring Meralco to establish a platform to handle consumer complaints and act with dispatch on all complaints.
In times of war, rebellion, public, peril, calamity, emergency or disaster, the bill grants the President the right to temporarily take over Meralco’s facilities or suspend their operations in the interest of public safety and security.
The franchise covers cities and municipalities of Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, and certain cities, municipalities, and barangays in Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Pampanga.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda highlighted Meralco’s performance in service reliability and its impact on economic growth.
“Meralco is an exemplar of how service reliability can create economic growth and development,” he said in a statement.
Salceda cited a data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) which showed that the country could gain an additional PHP204.29 billion in gross value added annually if other power cooperatives and distribution utilities matched Meralco’s performance.
“This is the fruit of some PHP 220 billion Meralco invested in reducing systems losses and system interruptions,” he added.
Salceda also commended Meralco for its regulatory compliance, highlighting consumer refunds and adherence to ERC mandates.
He expressed confidence in the bill’s progression through the Senate, suggesting a rapid process without the need for a bicameral conference. (PNA)