MANILA – Sen. Rodante Marcoleta has filed a measure seeking to reduce recoverable system loss charges passed on to electricity consumers to a uniform 1 percent for both private electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives.

Under Senate Bill No. 2131, or the proposed “System Loss Limitation Act,” Marcoleta aims to amend Section 10 of Republic Act 7832, also known as the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994.

The bill noted that electricity rates in the Philippines remain among the highest in Asia, with residential consumers carrying a heavy burden from monthly charges.

It explained that system loss charges cover technical losses from the transmission and distribution of electricity, as well as non-technical losses caused by human error or electricity pilferage.

Under existing law, rural electric cooperatives may recover up to 14 percent in system losses from consumers, while private electric utilities may recover up to 9.5 percent.

Marcoleta’s proposal seeks to lower the recoverable cap to 1 percent upon the law’s effectivity.

The measure also seeks to prohibit power distributors from passing non-technical system losses on to consumers, including losses arising from pilferage, billing mistakes, meter misreading, and other incidents linked to negligence.

In his explanatory note, Marcoleta said the current system unfairly transfers business risks to consumers while discouraging utility firms from improving operational efficiency and service delivery.

“This bill seeks to remedy the injustice in the current cost-recovery mechanism by capping the recoverable system loss rate to a uniform one percent for both private electric utilities and rural electric cooperatives, and by completely prohibiting the passing on of non-technical system losses to consumers,” he said.

The bill said the proposed reform aims to promote accountability and fairness in the power sector while making electricity pricing more equitable, particularly for poor and marginalized households.

Under the measure, the Energy Regulatory Commission may still reduce or gradually phase out technical or design losses as part of system losses.

The Department of Energy, in coordination with the Energy Regulatory Commission and other stakeholders, would be tasked to issue the implementing rules and regulations within 90 days from the law’s effectivity.