CHIZ WANTS POWER SUBSIDY AUTOMATICALLY DEDUCTED FROM MONTHLY BILL

Senator Chiz Escudero today said the P2 billion refunds to electricity consumers are better than nothing but it is far from electrifying.

For one, the amount is 1/6th of the P12.3 billion that government intends to collect in VAT from the power industry this year.

He added that is also a drop in the huge bucket of Napocor net income of P90 billion in 2006 and P86 billion in 2005.

In short, it is like government drawing a gallon of blood from you and later makes a big deal in return in giving a drop to you.

Escudero said the power refund will not translate to higher consumer spending power. The plowback is in dosage that will not bring great relief the way a lower VAT could.

Besides there is the question of government's ability to undertake pinpointed and targeted reimbursement in a scale involving almost one in every five households.

"A government which has a spotty record in putting out a clean voters' list , which can't be relied upon to grant tax refunds on time, which is clueless as to how many cops it can deploy on a given shift, whose import data is in shambles, doesn't inspire confidence in its ability to launch an operation this massive" Escudero said.

The best way, Escudero said would have been metered reimbursements, based on customer records of power distributors, where a certain amount, based on a formula, is automatically deducted from the monthly bill of power user that will meet the threshold, and the amount subtracted will be billed to the government which must settle it promptly.

"The added benefit of this approach is that it will promote energy conservation as beneficiaries, in order for them to qualify for discounts, will struggle to keep within the range that will entitle them to relief".