Energy security eyed with two-pronged bid

Two crucial developments in the power sector — the Supreme Court challenge of the Court of Appeals’ (CA) reversal of a regulator’s decision to dismiss rate hike petitions and the expected approval of the natural gas bill — will lead to a stable power supply and a reduction in monthly bills.

Advocacy group Power for People Coalition (P4P) expressed confidence the SC will grant the appeal filed by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to prevent the cancellation of power supply agreements (PSAs).

The Office of the Solicitor General confirmed that the ERC filed an appeal on 29 February this year.

The termination of PSAs, according to P4P, resulted in significant rate spikes which were disadvantageous to consumers.

“We welcome the move of the ERC and its chairperson, Monalisa Dimalanta, to uphold its duty to protect consumers from the attempt by companies to profit from the rising prices of coal and gas by passing them on to consumers,” P4P convenor Gerry Arances said on Wednesday.

“We hope the Supreme Court will see reason and rule that the law must be abided by and power companies cannot raise electricity prices,” Arances said.

Last year, San Miguel Global Power Holdings won a ruling from the CA which overturned the ERC decision denying SMGPH’s petition to raise prices of its Ilijan gas and Sual coal power plants.

The company terminated several PSAs with the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) that had fixed rates.

Signed PSAs should not be canceled because they protect consumers “from the ludicrous spike in electricity prices that plagued customers of other distribution utilities in the country at the time,” Arances stressed.

PSAs are won by power generation companies through a competitive selection process (CSP) that involves a transparent and competitive bidding system, where a power supplier is chosen to supply the electric power requirements of a distribution utility (DU) like Meralco.

The objective of the CSP is to prioritize the needs of consumers per the Distribution Development Plan and Power Supply Procurement Plans of the DUs.

Call for priority in Senate

Meanwhile, House Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre added his voice to an appeal by his peers for the Senate to pass the legislation that would put in place state policy on the full development of the Philippine natural gas industry.

Acidre, who belongs to the Tingog Partylist group, said the House passed on third reading the proposed Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry (PDNGI) Development Act, a legislative priority of the Marcos administration.

“With humility, I urge our fellow lawmakers in the Senate to prioritize their deliberations on the PDNGI Act,” Acidre said.

“While this is not a silver bullet that will address all the problems in the energy sector, I am certain that it will alleviate our energy supply,” he added.

“More importantly, its inclusion as one of the LEDAC priorities of this administration needs no further explanation or plea for its immediate passage,” he said, referring to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.

“The proposed law is one of the important policies under Bagong Pilipinas,” he noted.

House Bill (HB) 8456 was approved on third reading on 3 August 2023 with a 215-3 vote.

“Developing the natural gas industry can help the Philippines become more self-reliant and meet its energy needs,” Acidre said.