All these talk about Meralco and the high cost of electricity has made me wonder what the average Filipino household’s power bill looks like.
To make the comparison fair, why don’t we divide our electricity bill with the number of persons living in the house, including babies. I think the little darlings consume a bigger amount of electricity compared with the average person (need for airconditioning etc.)
For April, I paid P805.88 per person.
How does that compare with yours?
***
Meralco shares went into a nosedive today after news of a possible investigation (good luck with making it look like a friendly Q&A) by Congress into how Meralco runs the show. If there’s anyone in the audience who doesn’t know that this is politically driven, raise your hand.
No hands?
If this entire hullabaloo actually brings down my electricity bill, goodie. But here’s a So What Chocnut snippet that people should not miss.
Exactly 20% of that electricity bill goes to Meralco. If you look at your bill, you will see the biggest portion is called generation charge, which goes to the independent power producers and the National Power Corp.
Yes, that means the government.
That simply means the power to bring down electricity rates is in the government’s hands. And that should make you wonder what the administration is trying to do. This early, the business community is already worried. Of course they are not buying the we-want-to-drive-down-electricity-costs-for-poor-Filipinos line. Former central bank governor and AIG’s standard bearer Joey Cuisia has already been interviewed on television saying, “After Meralco, who next?” Not good for business confidence.
May 15th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
During the Meralco hearings, Senator Alan Cayetano told Winston Garcia to get out if the GSIS does not like the way Meralco is being run clearly showed on whose side the senator is with.
Senator Cayetano is a politician. If he were to follow his own line of reasoning then he should get out of politics because, evidently,he doesn’t like how our government is being run. Is it not his ambition to become the President someday and change the way the government is run? So, what is wrong if the GSIS tries to change the way the Meralco is run? As long as it is for the better good.
Another thing wrong with the Senator is that he thinks the only way a business can make more profits is by increasing its prices. Businessmen today are scared of increasing their prices because they might overprice themselves out of the market. They, instead, try to maximize their efficiency , cut unnecessary expenses, and even go to the extent of trimming excess staff. The Meralco did not have to do all of these because it is a monopoly. The senator probably comes from another school of thought.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
it’s unfair that system losses include electric consumption thru illegal connections. that cost should not be pass on to paying consumers but should be absorbed by meralco as a business risk or security issues.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
salve: I don’t know who will win the proxy fight. Both camps are secretive on how much proxies they have. For sure both are scrambling to get majority. I had a chat with a former business partner who is advising Garcia. He said they hold more stocks than reported by media. I kidded him we’re now enemies because I’m supporting the other camp. Whoever wins the proxy I hope the consumers win low electricity rate.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
khayib, nope didn’t see angelo reyes on tv saying that. but if what he said were true, they’ve got a big mess to clean up.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
hope, oo nga ano? other utilities firms in other countries also allow this but capped at a certain percentage. even then, i also think it’s preposterous for consumers to be charged systems losses.