ERC strengthens rules on customer choice programs
By Alena Mae S. Flores – August 29, 2024, 7:40 pm
From manilastandard.net
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) released the omnibus rules on consumer choice program in the retail electricity market to drive competition and empower consumers.
The consumer choice program consists of the retail competition and open access (RCOA) and retail aggregation under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 and the various programs under Republic Act No. 9513 or the RE Act such as the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) and distributed energy resources (DER).
The ERC, after months of public consultations, issued the omnibus rules consolidating all guidelines for customer choice programs to unlock the power of consumers to select their preferred electricity suppliers.
“The ERC is committed to advancing the goals of the RCOA, which we consider the ‘holy grail’ of EPIRA. The implementation of RCOA has transformed the Philippine energy sector by empowering consumers with choices and driving investment and competition in the electricity market,” ERC chairperson and chief executive Monalisa Dimalanta said in a statement Thursday.
“With the issuance of the omnibus rules, we contribute to realizing energy democracy and will focus the next few months on an intensified consumer education campaign for an effective exercise of their power to select the supplier that best meets their unique needs,” she said.
A Magna Carta for Retail Customers was established under the rules, outlining key rights of retail customers, such as their right to choose suppliers, access to transparent billing, and protection against premature contract terminations.
The rules also expand the implementation of the retail aggregation program (RAP) as it now allows the aggregation of demand within the same franchise area.
The rules permit similarly-situated end-users within the same DU franchise area—such as facilities having the same owners or being in the same nature of business to aggregate their demand.
The rules also strengthen the licensing requirements for retail electricity suppliers (RES) to ensure their financial viability and competitiveness as it mandates a tangible net worth of P15 million for RES.
The new set of rules also introduces a mechanism for determining the standing of RES, including criteria and parameters for assessing a RES’ compliance and performance metrics.
Customer feedback was also added as a criterion in evaluating the performance of RES for license applications.
