Negros Power Vows Response to RFSC Billing Issue

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY – Negros Electric and Power Corp. President and CEO Roel Castro has assured Bacolod Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. that the power utility will address his concerns regarding continued charges under the Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable Capital Expenditures (RFSC).

“We received the official copy of the resolution,” Castro said in a statement Monday.

“Negros Power will address the issues raised by Councilor Gamboa at the right and appropriate time.”

He added, “But for the comfort of the consumers and the public, Negros Power’s rates are in accordance with the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) granted by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and all regulatory rules and laws.”

On his social media page, Gamboa said the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) approved a resolution he authored on July 9, 2025, requesting an immediate explanation from Castro as to why Negros Power continues to collect the RFSC in consumer billings.

The RFSC, created under ERC Resolution No. 20, Series of 2009, allows electric cooperatives (ECs) to collect capital contributions from member-consumers to finance expansion, rehabilitation, or system upgrades under an approved capital expenditure (CAPEX) plan.

Gamboa’s resolution emphasized that Negros Power is not an electric cooperative but a private stock corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Therefore, the collection of the RFSC charge of PHP0.1518 per kilowatt-hour raises legal and ethical questions, he said.

The SP resolution pointed out that RFSC billing is allowed only for ECs under ERC Resolution No. 20 and not for private corporations like Negros Power.

Gamboa, who chairs the SP Committee on Human Rights, stressed that access to electricity is a basic human right that must be protected with transparency and accountability.

He argued that collecting the RFSC without specific regulatory authority could place an undue burden on consumers.

In several interviews, Gamboa reiterated that access to affordable utilities like water and electricity is not a privilege but a right every Filipino and Bacolodnon deserves.

He said he filed the resolution in response to rising public concerns over inflation and the increasing cost of electricity, as well as the perceived lack of consultation in the privatized power sector.

Negros Power has been given 10 days from receipt of the resolution to formally respond and clarify the legal basis for collecting the RFSC.