Cheyenne Suarez

DOE eyes expansion of power subsidies to poor consumers

Electrical meters with countless electrical wires hanging near residences in Barangay Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City on February 19, 2019. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Arthur Fuentes

Alvin Elchico

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The government is seeking to broaden electricity subsidies for low-income households, with the Department of Energy (DOE) looking to expand and simplify access to the Lifeline Rate Program, the DOE said on Wednesday.The DOE said the initiative follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive in his 4th State of the Nation Address that the benefit be extended beyond current beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), as the government seeks to cushion marginalized families from rising power costs.Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the DOE is streamlining enrollment procedures through automated data matching with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), eliminating the need for 4Ps households to file documents manually. For low-income families outside the 4Ps, field validation by social workers will be conducted to confirm eligibility.“Our priority is to ensure that those who need the subsidy most can access it easily, without lengthy procedures or excessive documentary requirements,” Garin said.The DOE is also reviewing the minimum electricity consumption threshold required to qualify for the Lifeline Rate, in coordination with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Adjustments may allow households consuming slightly above current limits to access the subsidy, while keeping the program financially sustainable.The ERC has finalized its proposed implementation approach and will soon hold public consultations on draft Lifeline Subsidy Rules. These rules seek to introduce a uniform subsidy for marginalized end-users and a uniform charge for subsidizing customers.Officials said the reforms form part of a broader “Energy Family” strategy to harmonize regulatory, technical, and customer-side processes across agencies. Updated guidelines will be released once consultations are completed.<div>Yellow alert in Visayas</div>Meanwhile, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines declared a yellow alert over the Visayas grid from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday due to thinning reserves.The alert level is issued when operating margins fall below contingency requirements. Available capacity in the region stood at 2,694 MW against peak demand of 2,351 MW, leaving a reserve of only 343 MW, the grid operator said.NGCP reported 14 power plants on forced outage from April to November—four since 2024 and two since 2023—while another 14 are running on derated capacity, removing 898.6 MW from the grid.Contributing factors include the unavailability of TVI units 1 and 2 (169 MW each) and the emergency shutdown of LGPP 3, which reduced its output from 79.5 MW to 39.3 MW.The Luzon and Mindanao grids remain normal.

The Department of Energy is looking to expand and simplify access to the Lifeline Rate Program.

The Department of Energy is looking to expand and simplify access to the Lifeline Rate Program.