Your Electric Bill Should Not Pay for Stolen Power

Some electricity loss is unavoidable. Theft, waste and poor performance are not.

Every month, electricity consumers pay a system-loss charge. To many households, the chargeraises a fair question: Why should anyone pay for electricity that never reached their home?

The recent Senate hearing brought the answer into clearer focus. Not all electricity loss has thesame cause. Some loss is a natural part of delivering power. Other losses come from theft,illegal connections, meter tampering or weak controls. The law should not treat them as if theywere the same.

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During the hearing, legislators appeared ready to accept the power industry’s explanation thatzero technical loss is impossible. That is the correct view. Electricity loses some energy as itpasses through wires, transformers and substations. Better equipment can reduce this loss, butno distribution system can remove it completely.

Accepting that fact does not give power distributors an excuse for poor performance. An old orbadly maintained network will lose more electricity than an efficient one. Utilities must continuereplacing aging equipment, improving power lines and building facilities closer to thecommunities they serve. Technical loss may be unavoidable, but excessive loss should neverbe accepted as normal.

This is where strong regulation becomes important. The Energy Regulatory Commission mustset limits based on sound engineering and actual operating conditions. A utility that goesbeyond its approved limit should absorb the extra cost. Consumers should pay only for lossesthat are reasonable, properly measured and allowed by the regulator.

The stronger case for reform lies in non-technical loss. This includes electricity stolen throughillegal connections, meter tampering and other forms of unlawful use. It may also include powerthat cannot be accounted for because of faulty meters or poor monitoring. These are not naturallosses. They are preventable.

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Consumers who pay their bills honestly should not be made to cover electricity taken by others.This is the part of system loss that deserves the Senate’s strongest attention.

Distribution utilities have a duty to tighten their controls. They need accurate meters, bettermonitoring systems and quicker action when illegal use is found. But the government cannotleave the entire burden to the industry. Electricity theft is a crime. Police, local governments andthe courts must take enforcement seriously. The anti-pilferage law also needs to be updated socases do not remain unresolved for years.

Lawmakers must also avoid setting one system-loss limit for every distributor. A utility serving acrowded city does not operate under the same conditions as a cooperative serving islands,mountains or distant rural communities. Longer power lines naturally lose more energy. Remoteareas may also have fewer customers to support the cost of upgrades.

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Different operating conditions require different targets, but every utility must still showimprovement. Fair standards are not weak standards. They simply recognize that a remotecooperative should not be judged as if it were operating in the center of Metro Manila.

The Senate hearing moved the debate in a better direction. Instead of chasing the impossiblepromise of zero system loss, lawmakers are beginning to focus on the losses that can truly beprevented.

That is where the law can make a real difference. Keep technical losses within strict and realisticlimits. Make utilities answer for poor performance. Strengthen enforcement against electricitytheft. Protect the investments needed to keep power service safe and reliable.

Consumers should not be asked to pay for stolen electricity or avoidable waste. At the sametime, they should not be misled into believing that electricity can travel through a power networkwithout losing any energy.

The goal is not zero loss at any cost. The goal is to make sure every loss charged to the publicis necessary, reasonable and fully explained.