Gatchalian proposes ERC charter

By Alena Mae S. Flores – August 20, 2023, 8:40 pm
from manilastandard.net

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Saturday the Energy Regulatory Commission should have its own charter to address industry issues such as delays of transmission projects.

Gatchalian said several industry issues prompted him to file Senate Bill No. 487 or An Act Enhancing The Governance Structures of The Energy Regulatory Commission.

If enacted into law, the proposed measure will provide ERC with more teeth to regulate various stakeholders in the energy sector.

“The birth of ERC came about because of EPIRA [Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001]. But if you read EPIRA, there is much room for improvement especially given recent developments in the industry, so I am going to push for the creation of ERC charter,” said Gatchalian.

He said he discussed the proposed bill with Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla and ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta, and they all agreed on the need to revisit the powers of the ERC

“ERC is one of the most important actors in the energy sector, so we have to make sure that it has enough power to penalize,” Gatchalian said.

He said that as a regulator, the ERC plays an important role in ensuring that the interests of consumers are protected, and its governance structure should foster independence, transparency and accountability.

The ERC is pushing for increased penalties and possible imprisonment for rule violators as part of amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

“Increased penalties because it’s very low. Right now, we can only impose a maximum of P50 million penalty,” Dimanta said.

“Our proposal is up to P500 million maximum in the [EPIRA] amendment from current P50 million,” Dimalanta said, adding this would give more police powers of the ERC.