EXPLAINER: What is system loss, and how does it affect your power bill?
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for legislative amendments to the EPIRA law to stop electricity distributors from charging consumers for system losses. These losses, caused by technical resistance and non-technical factors like theft, are currently passed on to households.
Why it matters
This policy change could significantly lower monthly electricity bills for millions of Filipino households by shifting the financial burden of network inefficiencies away from consumers.
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Meralco line men conduct an anti-urban blight and dangling wire clearing operations to remove so-called 'spaghetti wires' targeting excess, idle, and unauthorized wires to improve public safety and enhance urban aesthetics, in Pasay City on January 19, 2026.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Congress to amend the EPIRA to stop charging consumers for system losses, emphasizing that consumers should not pay for electricity that does not reach them. System loss refers to the difference between electricity entering a power network and what is billed to customers, caused by both technical factors like resistance in wires and non-technical factors such as theft and meter errors. The Department of Energy supports the proposed amendment, highlighting the need for consumers to avoid bearing the costs of avoidable system losses while ensuring the electricity industry remains financially sound. This is AI-generated.
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