Hontiveros to ERC: Verify NGCP’s P8.7-B janitorial, security expenses

Senator Risa Hontioveros urged the Energy Regulatory Commission to verify the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines' declaration of its janitorial and security services expenses amounting to P8.7 billion, which were passed on to consumers as part of its transmission charge.

Hontiveros told reporters on Thursday that her office received information that NGCP might have been maintaining "few facilities" contrary to the grid's claims that it has been operating at least 583 facilities — with each costing the company P87,000 monthly.

"The actual number may be closer to 260, which is less than half of the claimed 583 facilities. Based on what can be counted on the Philippine Grid Map published by NGCP, there are only 164 substation facilities all over the country," she noted.

Hontiveros also pointed out that many of the grid's operated facilities, including the 77 repeater stations situated on remote mountain tops, require only a single security guard rather than janitorial staff.

"Similarly, over a hundred substation facilities and control centers, which are predominantly inaccessible to the public, may not necessitate around-the-clock janitorial services," she added.

Hontiveros said the ERC and the DoE should not turn a blind eye to the issue.

"To validate the accuracy of these numbers and determine whether NGCP is disseminating misleading information on this issue, the ERC should conduct a comprehensive verification of the physical existence of these facilities and scrutinize the actual contracts governing janitorial and security services," she stressed.

The senator had earlier raised concerns on the questionable expenses of the NGCP during Senate deliberations on the proposed 2024 budget of the Department of Energy and its attached agency last 29 September.

She previously lamented that there are still a huge number of households nationwide being deprived of access to a steady supply of energy largely due to NGCP's operations failures, despite spending billions on service maintenance.

Hontiveros also questioned the grid's expenditure, along with other substantial payments for advertising, entertainment and corporate social responsibility projects, contributing to the recoverable amounts charged to electricity consumers under the transmission cost.

She slammed the grid's "unfair passing" of maintenance expenses to consumers.

"Anumang ipinapasa natin sa konsyumer ay dapat nabubusisi ng maigi. Ni hindi nga makapag-hire ang konsyumer ng sariling tagalinis o security guard, tapos sa kanila pala ipapasa ang bayarin na ito na dapat ay sa NGCP. Hindi ito patas (Anything that we pass on to the consumer must be carefully scrutinized. The consumer can't even hire their own cleaner or security guard, but the costing was passed on to them. It's not fair)," she pointed out.

Hontiveros said the ERC should conduct an extensive probe of NGCP's expenditure, stressing it is part of the "regulator's duty to perform a performance and rate audit" of the grid.