Sec. Petilla Latest to Exit from DOE’s Revolving Door

by David Celestra Tan, MSK

30 April 2015

The coming exit of Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla from the Department of Energy after only 2 years at the helm reminds all of us that the department has become a revolving door of good capable men of considerable promise but not staying long enough on the job to make a lasting difference in this critical sector that badly needs long term leadership and policy direction to correct what have been ailing it for so long.

Secretary Petilla leaves and the consumers again are left in the dust. To suffer the high rates, the continued monopolization and negotiated contracts, the imbalanced energy mix, rudderless power development, a confused renewable energy sector, a divergent and lumbering transmission sector, a perennially short power supply, and a continued lack of safeguards for the consumers.

Secretary Petilla turned out to be a shooting star. Showing bold and prescient power reform initiatives only to fizzle, and in boxing parlance, seemed unwilling to “pull the trigger” to make things really happen. Remember the much ballyhooed Multi-Sectorial Task Force to Find Ways to Reduce Electricity Prices? Consumers and businessmen got excited and held their collective breathes after months of multi-sectorial meetings. Then in the end, the Secretary did not even find it important enough to receive formally the finished report. (The report is watered down but that’s another story). Perhaps some very powerful hands made him back-off.

Perhaps Secretary Petilla is threading towards reforms that the power establishment found threatening to their entrenched hold on the industry. His “dasap” is bold and now it is in limbo. Some say Petilla had to resign because the President listened to someone else in the appointment to a vacant slot at the powerful Energy Regulatory Commission. A move that insiders believe is a precursor to who will influence the choice of the next ERC Chairman after Chairperson Ducut retires in July. The two biggest power groups are heard to be unabashedly sounding out people willing to be appointed to the DOE and ERC and PEMC, on the understanding that they will protect their vested interests. (Well, what’s new?)

Technocrats like Petilla, Almendras, and the names before them were smart and well-educated and could pick-up in no time the lingo of power, eloquently speaking energy and policy, energy mix, reserves, and the vagaries of the wholesale electricity spot market. But they fail to go really deep into the structural defects and weaknesses of the energy sector to make the kinds of reforms that will right the sector and benefit the consumers. Mainly because they don’t stay long enough on the job.

The Philippines government structure is patterned after the United States where the Secretary of the Department is still appointed by the President and serves at his leisure. Nonetheless for the most part, the energy agencies have been able to pursue reforms and oversee the industry and stay the course, ever mindful of insuring the protection of the taxpayers as electricity consumers. Aside from a strong anti-monopoly and pro-competition and pro-people culture, the difference is a strong bureaucracy in the United States. Capable and patriotic minded people committed and truly guarding the interest of the country and consumers. A strong energy authority that will be ever present with continued policy.

Perhaps the problem is in the appointing authority. We hope sometime the country will get lucky and elect a President who will appoint an Energy Secretary who would be devoid of conflict of interest, and will truly pursue, and be allowed to pursue, a vision of low power cost, a truly competitive power sector, and a more sensible regulatory policy and methodology. And yes, someone who will stay long enough to get the job done and be allowed to “pull the trigger” if needed. Someone who will make structural changes and bureaucratic strengthening in the DOE and other energy agencies for a lasting pro-people power sector.

With the Presidential Election looming in May 2016, the replacement Energy Secretary will be a caretaker one with only a year of tenure. Sadly for the people, it is a critical one year. The generation sector is rampaging towards irreversible monopolization and promising initiatives for reforms will die in the vine. Let us hope they appoint someone who at least knows the power sector and will have a short learning curve.

It will be a short spin at the DOE Revolving Door but we nonetheless hope it would be a productive one for the desperate electric consumers.