‘Very slim chance’ for EPIRA amendments this year – ERC

MANILA, Philippines — The proposed changes in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) face a long road ahead, but the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) still clings to a “very slim chance” of enactment this year.

With less than three months before the 19th Congress ends, ERC chairperson and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta remains optimistic the EPIRA amendments would secure legislative approval.

“It’s a very slim chance that we will get it passed, but we’re still hopeful that we can get the support from both (chambers),” Dimalanta said in a recent interview.

While significant progress has been made in the House of Representatives, the proposal still has a steep climb ahead in the upper chamber.

“In the House, we’ve actually advanced quite a bit; it’s already on its second reading. In the Senate, it hasn’t gone past the committee on energy,” Dimalanta said.

According to the legislative calendar for the 19th Congress’ third regular session, both chambers, currently in recess, will reconvene on June 2 and adjourn on June 13.

This means lawmakers have only nine days, excluding weekends and holidays, to debate, review and vote on the proposed EPIRA amendments.

If the proposal fails to progress in the current Congress, Dimalanta said it would be “refiled.”

“We are still confident of the support of many legislators for ERC. Everyone wants reforms, so I think we are leaning on that desire of our legislators to really push for reforms in the (energy) sector,” she emphasized.

Enacted in 2001, EPIRA reforms and liberalizes the country’s power industry by unbundling it into distinct sectors — generation, transmission, distribution and supply — to promote greater competition in the electricity market.

President Marcos ordered Congress last year to revisit the law and make the necessary amendments to policies that are not applicable for the present time.

In particular, one of the major proposed changes is to expand the composition of the ERC from five to nine commission members.

“They want to make it nine members with divisions in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao – three commissioners for Luzon, three for the Visayas and three for Mindanao,” Dimalanta said in a press briefing last January.

Dimalanta earlier argued that the ERC’s current structure no longer aligns with the evolving needs of the power industry.

Unlike before, when state-run National Power Corp. had acted as the sole generator and utility provider, the sector now consists of one transmission operator and hundreds of generation companies and distribution utilities.

“The structure of the ERC is not suited to deal with these many stakeholders, so we really need legislation to allow us that flexibility to restructure accordingly,” Dimalanta said.

The restructuring, she said, would help the ERC resolve regulatory delays, which, in turn, could “improve our chances of getting more affordable prices in our power system.”

Created by EPIRA, the ERC is responsible for promoting competition, protecting consumer interests and penalizing abuse of market power.