Manila: Senators on Thursday called for a comprehensive review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 to address persistent challenges in the energy sector, including high electricity costs, delayed transmission projects, and weak enforcement of regulations. During a Senate Committee on Energy hearing, Senator Pia Cayetano emphasized the need to reexamine the two-decade-old law to determine if its safeguards remain effective amid changing market conditions.
According to Philippines News Agency, Cayetano highlighted that the problems consistently brought to their attention necessitate a careful review of whether EPIRA’s original safeguards and requirements, such as the public offering and cross-ownership restrictions, are still effective and relevant in today’s market condition. She noted that EPIRA was enacted to liberalize and modernize the power industry with the goal of ensuring affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity for Filipinos. Cayetano stressed the importance of ensuring that laws not only encourage investment and innovation but also protect consumers and promote fair competition.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian pushed to strengthen the enforcement powers of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), particularly in penalizing power companies responsible for project delays. He cited the case of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which was fined only PHP15 million for 34 delayed projects. Gatchalian argued that the PHP15 million penalty is insufficient for a significant transmission operator like NGCP, which is earning around PHP17 billion with PHP3.6 billion in declared dividends in 2024. He proposed giving the ERC authority to impose penalties commensurate with the scale of a project and the capacity of the operator.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta urged NGCP and the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) to resolve their differences to expedite the completion of transmission projects across the country. Marcoleta expressed concern over the lack of coordination between TransCo, the owner of the transmission assets, and NGCP, the operator, stating that their disagreements are far from public expectations. He stressed that coordination and dialogue between the two agencies are essential to avoid further project delays. NGCP operates and maintains the national transmission grid as a private concessionaire, while TransCo, a government-owned and controlled corporation created under EPIRA, retains ownership of the transmission assets.
