ERC to expedite review of NPC petitions

BY LENIE LECTURA – JANUARY 19, 2023
from Business Mirror

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Wednesday said it will fast-track its review of all pending petitions of the National Power Corp. (NPC) for its availment from the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UCME) and all other similar applications involving the UCME.

This after several New Power Providers (NPPs) and Qualified Third Parties (QTPs) informed the ERC of the circumstances surrounding the delay in NPC’s payment of UCME subsidy billing.

“The Commission is already in the process of evaluating all pending petitions of the NPC…. Rest assured that, the Commission shall expedite the review of NPC’s relevant petitions following due process and proceedings, in addition to looking for alternative solutions to solve the present crisis in missionary areas, while ensuring that reasonable prices and quality service will be provided,” the ERC said.

According to NPC, the continuous increase in the average price of diesel has led to the depletion of allotted funds for fuel. The state firm said it has taken measures to bridge the gap in funding through the implementation of corporate-wide austerity measures, and by looking into possible borrowing or additional subsidies from the national government.

“As the regulatory body tasked with the duty of protecting and promoting consumer interest, the Commission is faced with the challenge of balancing the interests of our consumers and end-users in missionary areas on one hand, and on-grid end-users who shoulder the burden of subsidizing the UCME, on the other,” the ERC said.

NPC said the price of diesel rose from P47.4303 per liter in early 2022 to as high as P80.0053 per liter over a four-month period.

“At present, NPC’s current fuel supply continues to dwindle after its fuel supplier has again halted delivery. Much as it wanted to maintain current service hours, NPC is left with no option but to reduce the operating hours of its power plants to stretch the current fuel supply until the 31st of December,” NPC had said.

It added that there were additional funds funneled to its operations as the Department of Budget and Management allowed it to utilize the unobligated national government subsidies from prior years. These funds came in two tranches amounting to P1.319 billion and P1.027 billion.

Further, NPC expects to receive an additional P180 million per month from its UCME true-up collections.

Also, the national government has granted NPC another P2.99 billion to augment its budget for payment to the NPPs and QTPs. However, this amount only covered past due accounts up to September 2022.

Image credits: www.napocor.gov.ph