Group: Systems audit of NGCP is necessary
BY LENIE LECTURA – JANUARY 3, 2022
from Business Mirror
The Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday said it continues to push for a systems audit of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) following a request it received from the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (NASECORE).
“We have been pushing for systems audit, but we are awaiting action to be made by NGCP and ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission), more on ERC. As far as audit is concerned, we can see where we can improve…where we can strengthen,” said Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella during a virtual press briefing.
In a letter submitted to the DOE, the NASECORE said the audit is necessary because the NGCP allegedly failed “to ensure the quality, reliability, security and affordability of the supply of electric power” as required by law.
“This failure had been repeatedly witnessed during the 2013 Super Typhoon Yolanda, Typhoon Ruby in 2014 and the earthquake of 2017 due to its apparent inadequate, weak and grossly unreliable transmission system that are easily felled by typhoons,” said NASECORE President Pete Ilagan.
The NGCP did not comment on NASECORE’s statements. In the past, it maintained that it “has never resisted any audit,” and it just wants the audit to be done in accordance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, as well as the provisions of its concession agreement and franchise. It also said it would only accept an audit by the ERC because it is the only government audit prescribed by law.
In June last year, the ERC has started virtual inspections on the transmission facilities of NGCP.
“The ongoing inspections will cover NGCP’s Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao transmission facilities and the activities that will be undertaken are threefold: document verification of relevant documents on site; ocular inspections of the various systems, assets, and procedures; and probing questions or discussions with the concerned NGCP staff,” ERC Chairperson Agnes Devanadera said.
The inspections are part of the compliance review being undertaken by the ERC’s technical staff together with its appointed consultant, Nacarro, Amper & Co.
When sought for comment on whether the DOE could audit NGCP, ERC Commissioner Rexie Digal said, “I think DOE has done it before, not only transmission but also gencos [generation companies] and DUs (distribution utilities).”
In its letter, NASECORE said NGCP’s performance is “unacceptable and unfair to electric cooperatives and distribution utilities [that] bear the brunt of the blame from consumers for the grid operators’ weak and the unreliable transmission system.”
NASECORE strongly urged the DOE to conduct an immediate and transparent audit of NGCP transmission system so as to determine the required upgrading and improvisation that will establish a resilient transmission system nationwide.
It also urged the ERC to conduct a regulatory audit of the funds it provided NGCP meant specifically for capital expenditures, which covers the rehabilitation and upgrading of the nationwide transmission system.
