After
five months of waiting, the fate of a petition filed by the city government against
the application of Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI) to recover franchise taxes
paid to the national and local governments will be known this week.
Commissioner
Rauf Tan of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) told the Chronicle on Friday
that their ruling will be out on Bohol Light's motion to charge in monthly billings
some P36.5 million in franchise taxes to its consumers.
Tan
said monthly billings of Bohol Light consumers already bears the add-on charges
of current franchise taxes the utility is paying to the national and local governments.
| | | If
Bohol Light's motion is granted by the ERC, an estimated additional 16-centavos
per kilowatt/hour will be charged to electric consumers.
The
charges represent P22.1 million paid by the company to the national government
and P14.4 million to the local government from 2001 up to 2008.
The
cost recovery scheme will be spread over three years, according to Bohol Light.
Tan
said even big players in the power industry were already granted authority by
the Commission to charge franchise taxes on its consumers. |
He added
that the ERC have decided during a second public hearing last September at the
Governor's Mansion to set aside the pre-judicial question raised by Tagbilaran
Mayor Dan Lim who led oppositors to the application of Bohol Light.
According
to Tan, the Commission leaves to the courts to decide on the matter regarding
the authority and legal personality of Bohol Light to charge franchise taxes due
to its questionable franchise which was issued by the National Electrification
Commission (NEC).
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