Sending the wrong signal

The Philippine National Police has managed to secure just 21 convictions since 2022 in electricity pilferage cases, with only 5% of arrests resulting in convictions. In comparison, they have recorded 548 violations of the Anti-Electricity Transmission Lines Materials Pilferage Act since 2022. This has caused criticism, with Sen. Erwin Tulfo questioning why other arrested individuals are not being punished.

The lack of punishment could make it difficult for electric companies to collect system loss charges from consumers, as they cannot recover those losses without consequences.

Senator Tulfo also criticized the National Bureau of Investigation for not submitting data on electric pilferage cases, urging them to present figures in the next hearing. The Senate is currently considering measures to prohibit electricity distribution companies from collecting system losses from consumers, including non-technical losses such as electricity theft. However, the root cause of the problem remains unresolved - the failure of government law enforcement agencies to stop electricity pilferage and theft.

This sends a message that electricity theft is acceptable, as those involved in the distribution business can simply absorb these losses instead of passing them on to consumers. While some electricity distributors are large businesses, many are struggling to survive and removing their ability to charge customers for system losses could be catastrophic.

Hospitals, schools, and other essential businesses depend on electricity, and the economic impact of these losses would be disastrous. The Department of Energy has launched a campaign to encourage reporting of illegal connections and tampered meters, acknowledging that the government cannot tackle this issue alone.