THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said on Tuesday that the review of draft rules for the competitive selection process (CSP) is ongoing and is due for completion by the end of the month.
“We’re targeting to release the new revised draft within the week, so we can have a [public consultation] again next week; by the end of September, we can finalize the guidelines,” ERC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta told reporters on the sidelines of Giga Summit 2023.
The draft implementing guidelines governing the procurement, execution, and evaluation of power supply agreements (PSAs) entered into by distribution utilities (DUs) for the supply of electricity to their captive markets was published on Aug. 14.
The ERC notified the Department of Energy (DoE) on Aug. 25 of the necessity to consider the results of various consultations and the need to revise the draft CSP guidelines further.
The ERC seeks to revise the guidelines set by Department Circular No. DC2018-02-0003, which outlines policy on procurement by DUs for their captive markets in both on-grid and off-grid areas.
“We’re going through the draft again on the points that (were raised in consultations) …so we’re revisiting that,” she said.
In CSP, a competitive bid is conducted to obtain a supply of electricity, with winning bids evaluated by a standard set of criteria.
In 2019, the Supreme Court affirmed its decision requiring all PSAs submitted by DUs to the ERC beginning June 30, 2015 to undergo CSP, rendering prior agreements ineffective as a basis for determining rates. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
