By:DONALD SEVILLA
HIGH ELECTRICITY RATES: A STUMBLING BLOCK TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PROGRESS
Unfortunately the Philippines has one of the highest electricity rates in the Southeast Asian region. This has stunted our industŕal growth and economic development as cheap and sustainable power is a catalyst for vibrant commerce and trade.
Industries flourish where electricity is inexpensive and stable. Businesses grow and prosper, and when this happens our economy becomes còmpetitive.
Whereas before, compared to our Asian neighbors we were at the front of the line, now we rank behind Vietnam and Thailand in terms of industrial competitiveness.
Countries like Vietnam,South Korea and Japan were ravaged by war and extensively damaged yet they managed to rise from the rubble and emerged as strong tiger economies outperforming us.
Ìn the early sixties to seveñties students of agriculture from Vietnam,Thailand and other neighboring countries studied under us at IRRI ( International Rice Research Institute) in Los Banos.Fast forward to the preseňt and these countries now lead us in terms of production èxpoŕting rice the world over.
But why? A combination of poor agricultural pòlicies, inefficient govèrnment support and expensive electricity rates priced us out of the market.
In rice production rice-milling accounts for a sizeable cost of the finished product. While we are paying an average of Php12/ kw hr., Vietnamese faŕmers pay much less at an average of Php 5/ kw hr.
Saddlèd by other factors we lost to the competition.Instead of being self-sufficient produçèrs we ended up as the world’s number one importer in terms of volume per individual ratio.
This is not only true to our agricultural staple but also to other industries as well.We lost to Thailanď and Vietnam in industrial and automotive manufacturing.
If not for our BPOs and OFWs our economy would have long collapsed.
For a time we were plagued by a power crisis and as ” beggars cannot be choosers” we were forced to give away a lot of concessions to entice power investors to set up shop.
Thus the EPIRA( Èlectric Power Industry Reform Act ) was enacted.While we badly needed it then, there is a need to revisit it now to keep it updated to our present needs
Our high cost of electricity can be attributed to the various charges that are passed-on to consumers as a result. If we look at our electricity bills and examine it closely we can notice several charges that seem complex to us ordinary folks.
But in reality what this simply means is we are paying for everything from line losses, forex fluctuations and adjustments, etc. to make sure these power producers earn a clean profit .In short consumers absorb all the contingencies even those beyond our control.
Yet protecting the rights and welfare of electricity consumers is something we must do. This is an advocacy MURANG KURYENTE is espousing, aside from promoting cheaper alternative sources of power through renewable energy and the use of new, innovative technological solutions to satisfy a power-hungry world.
As we are all saddled by regular monthly bills to cope,electricity being one of them, it is in our best interest to bring its cost down.
MURANG KURYENTE aims to do all these and a lot more!
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PCIJ