Local solar RE company to critics: We don’t intend to create a power monopoly

By Lenie Lectura - September 25, 2018

https://businessmirror.com.ph/local-solar-re-company-to-critics-we-dont-intend-to-create-a-power-monopoly/

Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. (Solar) on Monday defended House Bill (HB) 8179, which, if passed into law, will grant the fledgling renewable-energy (RE) company a nationwide franchise to construct a solar-battery mini-grid system.

“The text of the bill speaks for itself: It is nonexclusive, encourages others to apply for the same and aims to end the existing monopolies on electricity, because we believe consumers deserve new choices for better service at lower cost,” Solar President Leandro Leviste said.

“It  [the mini-grid proposal] also incurs zero cost to the government, and eliminates the need for billions in subsidies to existing utilities,” Leviste, who has caught the ire of some industry players and some lawmakers upon learning of the proposed measure, said.

HB 8179 seeks to grant Solar a nationwide franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain distributable power technologies and mini-grid systems throughout the Philippines to improve access to sustainable energy.

The bill was filed last August 6 and was immediately referred to the Committee on Legislative Franchises last August 8.

It was deliberated upon and approved by the same committee on August 29 and a hearing on the committee report was held last September 3.

Leviste said there is an “overwhelming public support” for HB 8179, because “it only targets areas where consumers complain about electricity. “If, instead of trying to prevent competition, utilities focused on lowering costs and improving service, then Filipinos would be satisfied with their electric service, and there’d be no need for us at all,” he added.

He said over 20 towns have already passed resolutions in support of the company’s mini-grid projects, and over 100,000 Filipinos have signed petitions in support of HB 8179. Consumer groups, it added, have come to the bill’s defense, amid opposition from existing power suppliers threatened by the advent of competition.

Solar cited the National Association of Electric Consumers for Reforms  recent statement in which Executive Director Atty. Rafael Acebedo said “Solar Para Sa Bayan should be thanked for fulfilling the intent of Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act], which consumers have long waited for.”

“We hope this wakes up the power industry, and leads to more reforms that will benefit the people, instead of institutionalizing the inefficiencies of electric utilities,” Solar quoted Acebedo as saying.

The Palueños Solar Power Electric Consumers Association, represented by Jeffrey Huertas, likewise, commended the company for pursuing a project that addresses the lack of power supply in the area.

During the August 29 public hearing of the bill in the House Committee on Legislative Franchises, Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Gerardo Erquiza said: “We must invite the private sector into rural electrification. We have a subsidy system, and it has always been the government on the forefront. If there is an option that is no cost to the government, that would be very good.”

Last week the Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance Inc. (PSSEA) slammed  HB 8179, saying the measure proposes to grant Solar “a monopoly that will capture the entire electric power value chain—generation, transmission, distribution and supply—with no limitation as to the capacity of the systems it can install or the service area it will cover.”

PSSEA joined the Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines, Center for Renewable Energy and Science & Technology, Renewable Energy Association of the Philippines and Confederation of Solar Developers in the Philippines  in strongly opposing the passage of HB 8179, saying the measure violates the constitutional provision of fair and unequal treatment for all.

They said there is no legal necessity to grant Solar a nationwide franchise, since there are existing regulatory framework allowing any entity—whether private or public, including local government units and nongovernment organizations, to participate in the provision of electricity in unserved or un-energized areas.

“Epira already lays down the legal requirements for any entity to participate in the generation and supply sectors. All generators and suppliers of electricity in contestable markets do not need any national franchise. The supply rules already in place provide that the prices to be charged by suppliers are not subject to the regulation of the ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission],” they said.