'Phl needs P587 B to subsidize electricity'

The country would need about P600 billion to provide energy subsidies and lower the cost of electricity nationwide, a senior energy official said.

- BRIX LELIS

"Do you know how much it will cost (to subsidize electricity)? It's about P587 billion," Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said.

She said if this pushes through, the multi-billion-peso budget will come directly from taxpayers' money, making it clear that "we will still be the ones paying for it."

Citing an International Energy Consultants study, Guevara said the electricity rates of Manila Electric Co., the country's largest power distributor, were seven percent lower than the world average.