THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is expected to release next month the result of its investigation into 17 power generation companies (gencos) earlier found to have breached their plant outage allowance, which caused the unscheduled brownouts from May 31 to June 3.
“We committed to finishing the evaluation by September,” said ERC Commissioner Rexie Digal via SMS.
Consumer advocate Power for People Coalition (P4P) inquired from ERC Chairperson Agnes Devanadera the status of 35 gencos that were issued notices of non-compliance, investigations for 17 of which were reportedly close to conclusion by July 1 as declared by the ERC in a June 10 hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy.
“What happened to these investigations? The ERC owes it to consumers to shed light on why disruptions in their electricity service still happen even though there supposedly are enough power plants in operation and even as they pay increasingly costly charges, especially in these trying times with the pandemic still lingering,” said Gerry Arances, convenor of P4P.
Digal said ERC will “try to have something by end of the month, but safe to say, we may need until September.”
P4P also called attention to Sual Unit, SLTEC Unit 1, and Sta. Rita Module 10, which have been given clearance to shut down for maintenance for 70 days, 61 days, and 35 days, respectively, within August to October—all of which are beyond the allowable maximum periods for planned outages as specified in ERC rules.
The same group asked the ERC if the probe on this new set of prolonged outages is already underway and if the commission intends to halt the simultaneous shutdowns because, it pointed out, consumers stand to suffer.
“The injustice and inconvenience suffered by consumers at the hands of these gencos are already undeniable, and we need the ERC to stand guard against even more abuses. Moreover, the commission’s investigations is potentially scathing to coal and fossil fuel obsessed companies currently dominating the power industry, and can be an important signal fire that it is indeed high time we switch to more reliable, sustainable, and affordable renewable systems,” Arances said.
Last month, ERC Chairman Agnes Devanadera told the Senate Energy Committee that her office has already evaluated the gencos’ explanations following the show-cause orders issued on June 22.
“We have already evaluated their explanations, most are mere allegations not supported by documents. We asked them to support their allegations. It’s really moving and we’re looking also at how they complied or did not comply with the performance indices,” said Devanadera.
The ERC is also looking into possible collusion among gencos whose facilities were on extended shutdown, including those that performed unplanned maintenance that led to rotational brownouts in Luzon last month.
The Department of Energy earlier said gencos that reported prolonged plant outages could face charges of anti-competitive behavior and economic sabotage for violating government-enforced laws and policies.
Gencos, except for those operating hydroelectric power plants, are not allowed by the DOE to conduct power plant maintenance during the peak quarter. Also, the ERC has put in place a cap on annual unplanned outages per generating plant technology to promote accountability.
