The House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises has approved the proposal to extend the franchise granted to the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) for another 25 years.
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The committee approved the consolidated version of Bills 9793, 9813 and 10317, authored by House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda, House Committee on Constitutional Amendments Chairman Rufus Rodriguez and House Committee on Energy Chairman Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, respectively.
Meralco is authorized under the existing franchise to construct, operate and maintain a distribution system for the supply of electricity to consumers in the cities, municipalities and barangays of Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Pampanga.
“The franchise is possibly the most important private account for industrial policy in this country. Meralco serves an area that accounts for about half of the country’s total GDP and about 26 percent of its population,” Salceda said.
