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Republic Act No. 7832Anti-Electricity
and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994.
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7832 AN
ACT PENALIZING THE PILFERAGE OF ELECTRICITY AND THEFT OF POWER
TRANSMISSION
LINES/MATERIALS, RATIONALIZING SYSTEM LOSSES BY PHASING OUT PILFERAGE
LOSSES
AS A COMPONENT THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Section 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be referred to
as
the "Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials
Pilferage
Act of 1994."
Sec. 2. Illegal Use of Electricity. –
It
is hereby declared unlawful for any person, whether natural or
juridical,
public or private, to:
(a) Tap, make or cause to be made any connection with overhead
lines,
service drops, or other electric service wires, without previous
authority
or consent of the private electric utility or rural electric
cooperative
concerned;
(b) Tap, make or cause to be made any connection to the existing
electric service facilities of any duly registered consumer without the
latter's or the electric utility's consent or authority;
(c) Tamper, install or use a tampered electrical meter, jumper,
current
reversing transformer, shorting or shunting wire, loop connection or
any
other device which interferes with the proper or accurate registry or
metering
of electric current or otherwise result in its diversion whereby
electricity
is stolen or wasted;
(d) Damage or destroy an electric meter, equipment, wire or
conduit
or allow any of them to be so damaged or destroyed as to interfere with
the proper or accurate metering of electric current; and
(e) Knowingly use or receive the direct benefit of electric
service
through any of the acts mentioned in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d)
above.
Sec. 3. Theft of Electric Power Transmission Lines and
Materials.
– (a) It is hereby declared unlawful for any person to:
(1) Cut, saw, slice, separate, slit, severe, smelt, or remove any
power transmission line/material or meter from any tower, pole, any
other
installation or place of installation or any other place or site where
it may be rightfully or lawfully stored, deposited, kept, stocked,
inventoried,
situated or located, without the consent of the owner, whether or not
the
act is done for profit or gain;
(2) Take, carry away or remove or transfer, with or without the
use
of a motor vehicle or other means of conveyance, any electric power
transmission
line/material or meter from a tower, pole, any other installation or
place
of installation, or any place or site where it may be rightfully or
lawfully
stored, deposited, kept, stocked, inventoried, situated or located,
without
the consent of the owner, whether or not the act is done for profit or
gain;
(3) Store, possess or otherwise keep in his premises, custody or
control, any electric power transmission line/material or meter without
the consent of the owner, whether or not the act is done for profit or
gain; and
(4) Load, carry, ship or move from one place to another, whether
by land, air or sea, any electrical power transmission line/material,
whether
or not the act is done for profit or gain, without first securing a
clearance/permit
for the said purpose from its owner or the National Power Corporation
(NPC)
or its regional office concerned, as the case may be.
(b) For purposes of this section, "electrical power
transmission
line/material" refers to electric power transmission steel towers,
woodpoles, cables, wires, insulators, line hardwares, electrical
conductors
and other related items with a minimum voltage of sixty-nine kilovolts
(69 kv), such as the following:
(1) Steel transmission line towers made of galvanized steel
angular
members and plates or creosoted and/or tannelized woodpoles/concrete
poles
and designed to carry and support the conductors;
(2) Aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) in excess of 100
MCM;
(3) Overhead ground wires made of 7 strands of galvanized steel
wires,
3.08 millimeters in diameter and designed to protect the electrical
conductors
from lightning strikes;
(4) Insulators made of porcelain or glass shell and designed to
insulate
the electrical conductors from steel towers or woodpoles; or
(5)
Various transmission line hardwares and materials made of
aluminum
alloy or malleable steel and designed to interconnect the towers,
conductors,
ground wires, and insulators mentioned in subparagraphs (1), (2), (3),
and (4) above for the safe and reliable operation of the transmission
lines.
Sec. 4. Prima Facie Evidence. – (a) The presence of
any of the following circumstances shall constitute prima facie
evidence of illegal use of electricity, as defined in this Act, by the
person benefited thereby, and shall be the basis for: (1) the immediate
disconnection by the electric utility to such person after due notice,
(2) the holding of a preliminary investigation by the prosecutor and
subsequent
filing in court of the pertinent information, and (3) the lifting of
any
temporary restraining order or injunction which may have been issued
against
a private electric utility or rural electric cooperative:
(i) The presence of a bored hole on the glass cover of the
electric
meter, or at the back or any other part of said meter;
(ii) The presence inside the electric meter of salt, sugar and
other
elements that could result in the inaccurate registration of the
meter’s
internal parts to prevent its accurate registration of consumption of
electricity;
(iii) The existence of any wiring connection which affects the
normal
operation or registration of the electric meter;
(iv) The presence of a tampered, broken, or fake seal on the
meter,
or mutilated, altered, or tampered meter recording chart or graph, or
computerized
chart, graph or log;
(v) The presence in any part of the building or its premises
which
is subject to the control of the consumer or on the electric meter, of
a current reversing transformer, jumper, shorting and/or shunting wire,
and/or loop connection or any other similar device;
(vi) The mutilation, alteration, reconnection, disconnection,
bypassing
or tampering of instruments, transformers, and accessories;
(vii) The destruction of, or attempt to destroy, any integral
accessory
of the metering device box which encases an electric meter, or its
metering
accessories; and
(viii) The acceptance of money and/or other valuable
consideration
by any officer or employee of the electric utility concerned or the
making
of such an offer to any such officer or employee for not reporting the
presence of any of the circumstances enumerated in subparagraphs (i),
(ii),
(iii), (iv), (v), (vi), or (vii) hereof: Provided, however,
That
the discovery of any of the foregoing circumstances, in order to
constitute prima facie evidence, must be personally witnessed
and
attested
to by an officer of the law or a duly authorized representative of the
Energy Regulatory Board (ERB).
(b) The possession, control, or custody of electric power
transmission
line/material by any person, natural or juridical, not engaged in the
transformation,
transmission or distribution of electric power, or in the manufacture
of
such electric power transmission line/material shall be prima facie
evidence that such line/material is the fruit of the offense defined in
Section 3 hereof and therefore such line/material may be confiscated
from
the person in possession, control or custody thereof.
Sec. 5. Incentives. – Any incentive scheme by way
of
a monetary reward in the amount of Five thousand pesos (P 5,000) shall
be given to any person who shall report to the NPC or police
authorities
any act which may constitute a violation of Section 3 hereof. The
Department
of Energy (DOE), in consultation with the NPC, shall issue the
necessary
guidelines for the proper implementation scheme within thirty (3) days
from the effectivity of this Act.
Sec. 6. Disconnection of Electric Service. – The
private
electric utility or rural electric cooperative concerned shall have the
right and authority to disconnect immediately the electric service
after
serving a written notice or warning to that effect, without the need of
a court or administrative order, and deny restoration of the same, when
the owner of the house or establishment of the same, when the owner of
the house or establishment concerned or someone acting in his behalf
shall
have been caught en flagrante delicto doing any of the acts
enumerated
in Section 4 (a) hereof, or when any of the circumstances so enumerated
shall have been discovered for the second time: Provided, That
in
the second case, a written notice or warning shall have been issued
upon
the first discovery: Provided, further, That the electric
service
shall not be immediately disconnected or shall be immediately restored
upon the deposit of the amount representing the differential billing by
the person denied the service, with the private electric utility or
rural
electric cooperative concerned or with the competent court, as the case
may be: Provided, furthermore, That if the court finds that
illegal
use of electricity has not been committed by the same person, the
amount
deposited shall be credited against future billings, with legal
interest
thereon chargeable against the private utility or rural electric
cooperative,
and the utility or cooperative shall be made to immediately pay such
person
double the value of the payment or deposit with legal interest, which
amount
shall likewise be creditable against immediate future billings, without
prejudice to any criminal, civil or administrative action that such
person
may be entitled to under existing laws, rules and regulations: Provided,
finally, That if the court finds the same person guilty of such
illegal
use of electricity, he shall, upon final judgment, be made to pay the
electric
utility or rural electric cooperative concerned double the value of the
estimated electricity illegally used which is referred to in this
section
as differential billing.
For purposes of this Act, "differential billing" shall refer to
the amount to be charged to the person concerned for the unbilled
electricity
illegally consumed by him as determined through the use of
methodologies
which utilize, among others, as basis for determining the amount of
monthly
electric consumption in kilowatt-hours to be billed either: (a) the
highest
recorded monthly consumption within the five-year billing period
preceding
the time of discovery; (b) the estimated monthly consumption as per the
report of load inspection conducted during the time of discovery; (c)
the
higher consumption between the average consumptions before or after the
highest drastic drop in consumption within the five-year billing period
preceding the discovery; (d) the highest recorded monthly consumption
within
four (4) months after the time of discovery, or (e) the result of the
ERB
test during the time of discovery and, as basis for determining the
period
to be recovered by the differential billing, either: (1) the time when
the electric service of the person concerned recorded an abrupt or
abnormal
drop in consumption, or (2) when there was a change in his service
connection
such as change of meter, change of seal or reconnection, or in the
absence
thereof, a maximum of sixty (60) billing months, up to the time of
discovery:
Provided, however, That such period shall, in no case, be less
than
one (1) year preceding the date of discovery of the illegal use of
electricity.
Sec. 7. Penalties. – (a) Violation of Section 2 –
The
penalty of prision mayor or a fine ranging from Ten thousand
pesos
(P 10,000) to Twenty thousand pesos (P 20,000) or both, at the
discretion
of the court, shall be impose on any person found guilty of violating
Section
2 hereof.
(b) Violation of Section 3 – The penalty of reclusion temporal
or
a fine ranging from Fifty thousand pesos (P 50,000) to One hundred
thousand
pesos (P 100,000) or both, at the discretion of the court, shall be
imposed
on any person found guilty of violating Section 3 hereof.
(c) Provisions common to violations of Section 2 and Section 3 hereof.
– If the offense is committed by, or in connivance with an officer or
employee
of the power company, private electric utility, or rural electric
cooperative
concerned, such officer or employee shall, upon conviction, be punished
with a penalty one (1) degree higher than the penalty provided herein,
and shall forthwith be dismissed and perpetually disqualified from
employment
in any public or private electric utility or service company and from
holding
any public office.
If, in committing the acts enumerated in Section 4 hereof, any of the
other
acts as enumerated is also committed, then the penalty next higher in
degree
herein shall be imposed.
If the offense is committed by, or in connivance with the officer or
employee
of the electric utility concerned, such officer or employee shall, upon
conviction, be punished with a penalty one (1) degree higher than the
penalty
provided herein, and forthwith be dismissed and perpetually
disqualified
from employment in any public or private utility or service company.
Likewise,
the electric utility concerned which shall have knowingly permitted or
having knowledge of its commission shall have failed to prevent the
same,
or was otherwise guilty of negligence in connection with the commission
thereof, shall be made to pay a fine not exceeding triple the amount of
the "differential billing" subject to the discretion of the
courts.
If the violation is committed by a partnership, firm, corporation,
association
or any other legal entity, including a government-owned or –controlled
corporation, the penalty shall be imposed on the president, manager and
each of the officers thereof who shall have knowingly permitted, failed
to prevent or was otherwise responsible for the commission thereof.
Sec. 8. Authority to Impose Violation of Contract
Surcharges.
– A private electric utility or rural electric cooperative may impose
surcharges,
in addition to the value of the electricity pilfered, on the bills of
any
consumer apprehended for tampering with his electric meter/metering
facility
installed on his premises, as well as other violations of contract like
direct connections, use of jumper, and other means of illicit usage of
electricity found installed in the premises of the consumer. The
surcharge
for the violation of contract shall be collected from and paid by the
consumer
concerned as follows:
(a) First apprehension – Twenty-five percent (25%) of
the
current bill as surcharge;
(b) Second apprehension – Fifty percent (50%) of the
current
bill as surcharge; and
(c) Third and subsequent apprehensions – One
hundred
percent (100%) of the current bill as surcharge.
The private electric utility or rural electric cooperative is
authorized
to discontinue the electric service in case the consumer is in arrears
in the payment of the above imposed charges.
The term "apprehension" as used herein shall be understood to
mean
the discovery of the presence of any of the circumstances enumerated in
Section 4 hereof in the establishment or outfit of the consumer
concerned.
Sec. 9. Restriction on the Issuance of Restraining
Orders
or Writs of Injunction. – No writ of injunction or restraining
order
shall be issued by any court against any private electric utility or
rural
electric cooperative exercising the right and authority to disconnect
electric
service as provided in this Act, unless there is prima facie evidence
that the disconnection was made with evident bad faith or grave abuse
of
authority.
If, notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a court issues an
injunction
or restraining order, such injunction or restraining order, such
injunction
or restraining order shall be effective only upon the filing of a bond
with the court which shall be in the form of cash or a cashier's check
equivalent to the "differential billing," penalties and other charge,
or
to the total value of the subject matter of the action: Provided,
however,
That such injunction or restraining order shall automatically be
refused
or, if granted, shall be dissolved upon filing by the public utility of
a counterbond similar in form and amount as that above required: Provided,
finally, That whenever such injunction is granted, the court
issuing
it shall, within ten (10) days from its issuance, submit a report to
the
Supreme Court setting forth in detail the grounds or reasons for its
order.
Sec. 10. Rationalization of System Losses by Phasing
out
Pilferage Losses as a Component Thereof. – There is hereby
established
a cap on the recoverable rate of system losses as follows:
(a) For private electric utilities:
(i) Fourteen and a half percent (14 1/2%) at the end of the
first year following the effectivity of this Act;
(ii) Thirteen and one-fourth (13 1/4%) at the end of the second
year
following the effectivity of this Act;
(iii) Eleven and three-fourths percent (11 3/4%) at the end of
the
third year following the effectivity of this Act; and
(iv) Nine and a half percent (9 1/2%) at the end of the fourth
year
following the effectivity of this Act.
Provided, That the ERB is hereby authorized to determine at the end
of the fourth year following the effectivity of this Act, and as often
as may be necessary taking into account the viability of private
electric
utilities and the interest of the consumers, whether the caps herein or
theretofore established shall be reduced further, which shall, in no
case,
be lower than nine percent (9%) and accordingly fix the date of the
effectivity
of the new caps: Provided, further, That in the calculation of
the
system loss, power sold by NPC or any other entity that supplies power
directly to the consumer and not through the distribution system of the
private electric utility shall not be counted even if the billing for
the
said power is used through the private electric utility.
The term "power sold by NPC or any other entity that supplies
electricity
directly to a consumer" as used in the preceding paragraph shall
for
purposes of this section be deemed to be a sale directly to the
consumer
if: (1) the point of metering by the NPC or any other utility is less
than
one thousand (1,000) meters from the consumer, or (2) the consumer's
electric
consumption is three percent (3%) or more of the total load consumption
of all the customers of the utility, or (3) there is no other consumer
connected to the distribution line of the utility which connects to the
NPC or any other utility point of metering to the consuming meter.
(b) For rural electric cooperatives:
(i) Twenty-two percent (22%) at the end of the first
year following the effectivity of this Act;
(ii) Twenty percent (20%) at the end of the second
year
following the effectivity of this Act;
(iii) Eighteen percent (18%) at the end of the third year
following
the effectivity of this Act;
(iv) Sixteen percent (16%) at the end of the fourth year
following
the effectivity of this Act; and
(v) Fourteen percent (14%) at the end of the third
year
following the effectivity of this Act.
Provided, That the ERB is hereby authorized to determine at the end
of the fifth year following the effectivity of this Act, and as often
as
is necessary, taking into account the viability of rural electric
cooperatives
and the interest of consumers, whether the caps herein or theretofore
established
shall be reduced further which shall, in no case, be lower than nine
percent
(9%) and accordingly fix the date of the effectivity of the new caps.
Provided, finally, That in any case nothing in this Act shall
impair
the authority of the ERB to reduce or phase out technical or design
losses
as a component of system losses.
Sec. 11. Area of Coverage. – The caps provided in Section 10 of
this Act shall apply only to the area of coverage of private electric
utilities
and rural electric cooperatives as of the date of the effectivity of
this
Act.
The permissible levels of recovery for system losses in areas of
coverage
that may be added on by either a private electric utility or a rural
electric
cooperative shall be determined by the ERB.
Sec.. 12. Recovery of Pilferage Losses. – Any private electric
utility
or rural electric cooperative which recovers any amount of pilferage
losses
shall, within thirty (30) days from said recovery, report in writing
and
under oath to the ERB: (a) the fact of recovery, (b) the date thereof,
(c) the name of the consumer concerned, (d) the amount recovered, (e)
the
amount of pilferage loss claimed, (f) the explanation for the failure
to
recover the whole amount claimed, and (g) such other particulars as may
be required by the ERB. If there is a case pending in court for the
recovery
of a pilferage loss, no private electric utility or rural electric
cooperative
shall accept payment from the consumer unless so provided in a
compromise
agreement duly executed by the parties and approved by the court.
Sec. 13. Information Dissemination. – The private
electric
utilities, the rural electric cooperatives, the NPC, and the National
Electrification
Administration shall, in cooperation with each other, undertake a
vigorous
campaign to inform their consumers of the provisions of this Act
especially
Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 hereof, within sixty (60) days from
the
effectivity of this Act and at least once a year thereafter, and to
incorporate
a faithful condensation of said provisions in the contracts with new
consumers.
Sec. Rules and Regulations. – The ERB shall, within
thirty
(30) working days after the conduct of hearings which must commence
within
thirty (30) working days upon the effectivity of this Act, issue the
rules
and regulations as may be necessary to ensure the efficient and
effective
implementation of the provisions of this Act, to include but not
limited
to, the development of methodologies for computing the amount of
electricity
illegally used and the amount of payment or deposit contemplated in
Section
7 hereof as a result of the presence of the prima facie
evidence
discovered.
The ERB shall, within the same period, also issue rules and regulations
on the submission of the reports required under Section 12 hereof and
the
procedure for the distribution to or crediting of consumers for
recovered
pilferage losses.
Sec. 15. Separability Clause. – Any portion or provision
of
this Act which may be declared unconstitutional or invalid shall not
have
the effect of nullifying other portions or provisions hereof.
Sec. 16. Repealing Clause. – The provisions in
Presidential
Decree No. 401, as amended by Batas Pambansa Blg. 876, penalizing the
unauthorized
installation of electrical connections, tampering and/or knowing use of
tampered electrical meters or other devices, and the theft of
electricity
are hereby expressly repealed. All other laws, ordinances, rules,
regulations,
and other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this
Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 17. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect
thirty (30) days after its publication in the Official Gazette
or
in any two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.
Approved: December 8, 1994.
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