Antique: Around 4,000 Antique±os, mostly household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), are availing the expanded lifeline rate subsidy.

According to Philippines News Agency, Antique Electric Cooperative (Anteco) general manager Neal Peter Ve±egas said in an interview on Tuesday that Republic Act Number 11552, or the Expanded Lifeline Rate Law, mandates that all 4Ps household beneficiaries and marginalized or low-income earners in the province are able to avail of a 100 percent discount on their monthly electricity consumption.

Ve±egas explained that the 4Ps beneficiaries and marginalized or low-income earners in the province whose monthly electricity consumption does not exceed 50 kilowatt per hour (kWh) automatically avail of a 100 percent discount. He noted that in previous years, this discount was available to those whose electricity consumption was only 20 kWh per hour or below under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.

However, Ve±egas mentioned that as a pass-on rate due to the implementation of the Expanded Lifeline Rate Law, they had to increase the residential consumption rate by .01 centavos. 'As of March, the residential rate was only P13.56, but last April it increased to P13.57 kWh, which is only minimal though,' he stated.

Additionally, Ve±egas pointed out that those availing of the subsidy can no longer avail of the Antique provincial government's Provincial Electric Power Subsidy (PEPS), which also provides a PHP500 automatic monthly discount on their electric bills.