A HOUSE committee approved on Tuesday an unnumbered substitute bill seeking to strengthen the oversight powers of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
The bill, part of a broader effort to amend the 23-year-old law that liberalized the energy industry, was approved by the House energy committee.
The bill would provide the ERC “quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative and administrative” powers to expedite the resolution of pending applications and cases.
“It is the intent of this bill to reform the Energy Regulatory Commission to further enhance its role as the independent regulator of the electric power sector,” Party-list Rep. Sergio C. Dagooc told the committee. “The approval of this substitute bill will enable the ERC to establish a strong, independent, quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative, and accountable regulatory body.”
Amendments to EPIRA are among the legislative priorities set by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for the 19th Congress, with the chamber looking to approve such a bill before it goes on break by mid-December.
The measure would empower the ERC “to introduce price mitigation measures” in times of calamity, according to Mr. Dagooc, with the regulator being allowed to sanction power companies and order them to pay the penalties in the form of customer refunds.
It also requires the ERC to issue a fixed list of requirements for certificates of compliance applications, he added.
“To avoid the backlog of applications and ensure efficient delivery of services, the substitute bill provides that the ERC identify which among its functions shall be performed and undertaken through regular, summary, and administrative proceedings,” Mr. Dagooc said.
The substitute bill also requires the ERC to act on Power Supply Agreement applications within 60 days, bringing it more into line with norms set by the Ease of Doing Business law. Failure to act on the application within the set time will result in the application being automatically approved.
The ERC will also be given limited fiscal autonomy under the measure, including being allowed to use half of its revenue from fees, assessments, and license charges to augment its budget.
The regulator’s composition will also be expanded to nine from five, which could accelerate the resolution of cases pending before the ERC, according to Mr. Dagooc.
It also prohibits “commissioners and their relatives from holding any interest whatsoever either as investor, stockholder, officer, or director, in any company or entity engaged in the business of generating, transmitting, distributing, or supplying electricity,” he added. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
