New ERC chief focuses on putting house in order

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 3, 2017 - 12:00am

http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/12/03/1764734/new-erc-chief-focuses-putting-house-order

MANILA, Philippines — Putting the house in order is the imme-diate direction of newly-designated Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chairperson Agnes Devanadera.

This involves the hiring of more staff to reinforce the agency, which will allow the power regulator to deliver services better and faster, said Devanadera, who will start official work on Monday.

“My first order of business is to reinstate the synergy among the workers in ERC so that the institution can move faster and the institution can be part of the team in the energy sector,” she said.

Devanadera said the problem lies not only with the personalities in the ERC but because there is not enough people to work on unresolved cases.

Moreover, the agency’s salary rate is not competitive enough to hire more and maintain personnel.

“[We need to] put the house in order in the sense that we still have a lot of vacancies that we need to fill up. Plus, the salary rate is not competitive. Those are part of reinforcing the house,” she said.

 “As far as the public is concerned, the institution, the regulations, the regulatory body — they are always there not just to regulate but primarily, to do a balance and to protect the consumer,” the new ERC chief said.

Once the agency has enough manpower, the ERC will then be able to work on all pending cases, such as pending power supply agreement (PSA) applications, Devanadera said.

The power regulatory office has faced a slowdown in processing permits and decision making for new power projects due to shortage of manpower.

Regulatory approvals can take as much as three years, as the ERC is still processing cases such as complaints from consumers on the side.

This was further aggravated due to corruption issues hurled against the agency.

A former justice secretary and solicitor-general, Devanadera was appointed by President Duterte as the ERC’s new chair last week.

Her appointment was welcomed by power industry players, after the sector slowed down due to uncertainties in the agency’s leadership.

Corruption allegations in the agency started after ERC director Francisco Jose Villa Jr. committed suicide on Nov. 9, 2016, revealing corruption activities in the agency through his letters.