The Senate urged to allow automatic energy price increases within the approved brackets

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, A reporter

The Department of Energy (DoE) on Thursday urged the senators to amend the charter of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to allow price increases without legal approval as long as this is below a fixed rate or bracket.

This would allow the regulator to end the cumbersome approval process that power distributors have complained about, Energy Undersecretary Sharon S. Garin told the Senate considering changes to the 23-year-old Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

“If the distribution utility works on this (price increase) and it is within the scope and they can prove that they followed a fair, transparent procurement process, it should not be a full process but just a summary process that will be done. he is short,” he said.

The energy official said the move would also relieve the ERC of its time-consuming role as a court of law when it hears price appeals.

At the hearing, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian pushed to empower the ERC to expedite the approval of power supply agreements amid frequent blackouts in the country.

“Resetting the rates is one of the most important functions of the Energy Regulatory Commission because it determines the appropriate rates that organizations should charge,” he said.

Ms. Garin added that her agency also fito consider proposals for penalties that the ERC may impose in cases of economic destruction in the power generation sector.

“We are trying fiexplain how to do itfiand the destruction of the economy in terms of energy and increase the penalty for the mistake made by the players in the industry,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.

In his third speech to Congress, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. he called for a review of EPIRA to address the problems plaguing the energy sector, especially high electricity prices.

Energy Secretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevarra told senators in May that 4,000 megawatts of power could be added to the country’s electricity generation capacity by the end of the year.

He said that some of the power plants established this year are failing in the application process but they are ready to start working.

“Our goal is for people to have reliable electricity and not intermittent power,” said Senator Pilar Julianna S. Cayetano, who heads the energy committee, told the hearing.

“We need our regulatory bodies to be on the ball, able to react quickly and not after three years, not at all fiyears ago,” he added.

House of Representatives bills seeking to amend EPIRA are pending with its energy committee.

The House energy panel is considering changes to the ERC’s charter that would speed up the approval process for ratepayers, according to a Sept. 1 draft bill. BusinessWorld.

It is also considering a new provision in the charter that requires the ERC to issue a decision on administrative cases within 30 days.

Philippine lawmakers have committed to speeding up amendments to EPIRA, one of the President’s top priorities.

In the past, analysts have said that lawmakers should balance different ownership and address privatization issues under EPIRA to increase competition.

The Think Tank Center for Energy Research and Policy said it has identified the need to change the electricity procurement process and increase investment incentives to increase competition.

It also recommended to improve the regulatory capacity of the Ministry of Energy and the ERC.

EPIRA reorganized the electricity industry by privatizing the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of energy in 2001.

Under Section 5 of the law, multiple ownership – the concentration of ownership in two or more related businesses – is prohibited only between the transfer company and any company in production and distribution.