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KIKO FILES BILL TO REMOVE SYSTEMS LOSS CHARGES TO EASE BURDEN ON FILIPINO CONSUMERS

admin August 12, 2026

SENATOR Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has filed a measure seeking to remove systems loss charges from the electricity bills of Filipino consumers, possibly saving households 5% to 10% of their total electricity costs.

Filed on August 4, Senate Bill No. 2378, which will be known as Systems Loss Charge Removal Act, reiterated that households should not be made to pay for electricity losses they did not cause or consume.

The proposed measure aims to amend Section 25 of Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).

He said that for ordinary Filipino families already struggling with the rising cost of food, education, healthcare, transportation, and other basic necessities, every peso removed from their electricity bill can make a meaningful difference.

“Hindi dapat consumer ang sumasalo sa kapalpakan at kakulangan ng iba. Kapos na nga ang ating kababayan, tapos pagbabayarin pa natin ng hindi naman sila ang gumamit o may gawa?” he lamented.

The senator pointed out that paying for systems loss charges eats up meager household incomes, stressing that savings of a few hundred pesos can be used for food, rent, medical expenses, education, and even simple leisure.

“Kung may perang puwedeng manatili sa bulsa ng pamilya, dapat manatili roon,” he said.

The System Loss Charge allows distribution facilities to recover the cost of the difference between electricity delivered to their networks and electricity ultimately measured and billed to end-users.

The senator’s proposal comes amid renewed efforts in Congress to bring down electricity costs.

In his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for amending the EPIRA law to remove systems loss charges passed on to consumers, including the VAT imposed on such charges.

Pangilinan also earlier proposed Senate Bill No. 2124, or the VAT Exemption on Systems Loss Act for Residential Household Consumers, to reduce the burden on households who continue to pay for system losses they neither consume, cause, nor control.